Tower Hamlets Council bans three landlords for housing violations

Tower Hamlets Council secured three‑year banning orders against property management firm R&G Agent Ltd and its two directors, Rafael Mendes Torres and Evandro dos Santos Gomes, after a tribunal found serious and repeated housing offences at an overcrowded, unlicensed house‑in‑multiple‑occupation on Kemps Drive in Poplar, east London. The two‑bedroom flat had been converted into as many as five bedrooms housing up to six tenants, with infestations of mice, cockroaches and bed bugs, faulty electrical systems, lacking fire doors and extinguishers, and no protected deposits or written tenancy agreements. The tribunal described the landlords’ conduct as “dangerous” and noted a pattern of non‑compliance, concluding they misled tenants and the council.

Mayor Lutfur Rahman said the bans send a clear message that rogue landlords will not be tolerated and underscored the council’s commitment to safe, secure homes. Breach of the banning order is a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment and unlimited fines.