Three quarters of the fines resulting from Tower Hamlet letting agent prosecutions in the last three years were levied against just one firm.

Tower Hamlets has boasted that it brought 57 successful prosecutions against ‘rogue landlords and letting agents’ in the past three years.

Fines totalling just under £362,000 resulted, of which £116,000 were payable by landlords. The rest were levied against letting agents.

‘The largest single fine was £167,000, given to Sterling De Vere for giving false information to clients. The estate agent was also successfully prosecuted for two other offences under the Housing Act 2004 and fined £16,200’.

Sterling De Vere is the trading name of SDV HQ Ltd, where 32-year-old Juman Azizul Alum appears to be the only director – he is also a director of SDV Group Holdings Ltd and CR Property Contracts Ltd.

Incorporated in November 2012 as Sterling De Vere Ltd, the company’s last accounts for the year to December 2020 show it then had net liabilities of £277,496. It had accumulated losses of £279,496 of which just over £81,000 appears to be attributable to the year to December 2020. 

In addition to prosecuting landlords and agents, Tower Hamlets said it helped tenants claim back more than £360,000 using rent repayment orders resulting from landlord failures to license properties when they should have done so.

The council’s Selective Licensing Scheme was renewed at the beginning of October for another five years. It covers all rented properties within the Weavers, Whitechapel, Spitalfields and Banglatown areas.

‘The majority of landlords abide by the rules, but some don’t and we are prepared to take action against them’, said Councillor Danny Hassell, Cabinet Member for Housing.  

‘We want to work with landlords and managing agents to ensure that renters’ can live in decent quality homes in the borough’.