[Politics]'Ants are everywhere': Labour MP's tenants reveal condition of flats

[GreenBoys]

A Labour MP rents out flats with black mould and ant infestations, the BBC has discovered.
Jas Athwal, the newly-elected MP for Ilford South, owns 15 rental flats, making him the biggest landlord in the House of Commons.
In one block of seven flats owned by Mr Athwal nearly half the tenants said they had to regularly clean their bathroom ceilings to remove mould.
The BBC also saw evidence of ant infestations in a number of the seven properties.
"The ants are everywhere," one resident said, pointing to insects climbing up a door frame. "They are on my kid’s body and on their clothes."
Another resident said they had been threatened with eviction by the letting agent if they complained about problems in their flat or started claiming benefits.
Mr Athwal said the properties were managed by an agency, he had not been aware of these problems, and denied any tenant had been threatened with eviction.
He said he did not take on tenants on housing benefit to avoid conflicts of interest with his role as the local council leader.
He described himself as a "renters’ champion".But Andrew Boff, a Conservative member of the London Assembly who has also visited the flats, is calling on the Labour Party and Redbridge Council to investigate.
According to the Redbridge Council website Mr Athwal requires a selective property licence in order to rent out the block of seven properties, a system he introduced in December as the leader of the council.
A search on the council’s public licence register indicates that none of the seven properties has a licence. The BBC has separately seen evidence suggesting that one of the seven properties does not have a licence.
We have also asked Redbridge Council to confirm this information. They had not responded at the time of publication.
Mr Athwal stood down from his role as council leader last month after being elected to Parliament. He said he is in "full compliance" with the landlord licensing scheme.
When I visited the properties, which are above an empty shop in Ilford, the communal areas were dirty and the lights did not work.
Fire alarms were hanging loose from the ceiling, and a washing machine had been dumped next to a set of stairs.
One resident showed me black mould growing on their bathroom ceiling, adding that a family member is a "clean freak" who keeps scrubbing the area with bleach to keep the mould at bay.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyg1j0lv1go