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The Labour Party is facing calls to suspend an MP who was forced to apologise for poor rented properties.
Jas Athwal, the House’s largest landlord, has pledged to cover the costs of repairs and upgrades after mold and ant infestations were found in some of his rental properties. He has also fired the agency that manages his rental apartments.
Mr Athwal, the new MP for Ilford South, said on Sunday he was “shocked and sickened” by a BBC report at the weekend about a series of safety defects, including faulty fire alarms and washing machines left next to staircases, in some of the 18 homes he owns in east London.
Residents in one of the seven apartment blocks owned by former Redbridge Council leader Mr Athwal claim they have to regularly clean their bathroom ceilings to remove mould.
One tenant told the BBC that they had been threatened with eviction by estate agents when they complained about problems with their apartment.
“I am furious as I was not aware of these issues until this week,” Athwal wrote in a post on social media platform X.
He added that he had “fired my property manager with immediate effect” in response to the unwanted press coverage.
“I recognize it is my responsibility to address issues as soon as they arise and I have met with the property management company to understand the failure to communicate,” Athwal said in a statement.
“We deeply regret having let our tenants down and will be reviewing our management of the property and how we address the issues going forward.”
Senior cabinet minister Lucy Powell said on Sunday that Mr Athwal should not resign as an MP and that action was being taken to resolve the matter.
“My understanding is that he is furious because he had no idea this was happening in his own home and he has taken immediate steps to put it right, which is only natural,” she told Sky News.
Ms Powell also appeared on LBC yesterday to defend her Labour colleague, highlighting the fact that the Government will soon be bringing in “tenant reform legislation” to “tackle the menace of unscrupulous landlords”.
LBC presenter Louis Goodall said: “[Athwal] He was literally a member of the council who introduced a set of standards that all rental homeowners within the council had to follow, but he himself didn’t follow them.
“Don’t you think this is the height of hypocrisy? If this were the Conservative party we would be lambasting this guy. But here we’re saying ‘it’s no big deal, he’s going to compensate, we’re just doing it as usual’.”
“Don’t you think it would send a message to renters who are ripping people off that Labour will not tolerate these standards, especially from its own MPs?”
Powell: “Obviously, we’re not saying that’s OK, we’re just making it clear that this kind of standard is unacceptable.”
The host then interrupted the minister, saying, “Then punish him.”
But she replied: “Hold on a second. That’s why we’re legislating tough measures to deal with these issues, giving tenants those rights so they don’t have to go to the BBC or anyone else, a Labour MP or another landlord.”
“They have real rights embedded in the law to back it up. It’s not a no-no. What I’m saying is that this particular individual in question acted swiftly. He was infuriated by it. I’ll take him at his word for now, but he needs to get it right.”
Conservative London Assembly member Andrew Boff, who visited the apartment, called on Redbridge Council to investigate Mr Athwal.
“You have a situation where the leader of Redbridge Council introduced licensing and told everyone else to join but didn’t join himself,” Mr Boff said.
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