Published: Tuesday 7 July 2026
A landlord and his property management company have been found guilty again after a Kensington and Chelsea Council prosecution over unsafe conditions at a Hyde Park Gate house in multiple occupation (HMO).
Mohammed Rasool and Blackstone Properties Management Limited were each convicted of all eight charges – managing an unlicensed house in multiple occupation, failing to comply with an improvement notice, and six breaches of HMO management regulations – following a retrial at City of London Magistrates’ Court on Monday 29 June 2026.
The case was retried after the defendant challenged the original proceedings from 2023, and related to 36 Hyde Park Gate, which had been converted from four bedrooms into 22 rooms and was being used as a house in multiple occupation (HMO).
Council officers first visited the property in August 2021, and the court heard that it was being operated without the required HMO licence and that tenants were living with serious fire, health and safety risks.
At sentencing on Tuesday 30 June 2026, the court fined Blackstone Properties Management Limited £30,000 plus full prosecution costs of £12,176.68. Mr Rasool was fined £20,000.
Cllr Johnny Thalassites, lead member for resident services, planning and enforcement, said:
“Mr Rasool and Blackstone Properties Management Limited were given opportunities to put things right, but the court found they chose not to. We will continue to take action where landlords fail to follow the rules, because everyone in Kensington and Chelsea deserves a safe place to live.”
What did the original investigation find?
The investigation into the property began following a complaint from a tenant back in 2020 and uncovered that the landlord was unlicensed to operate the 22-bedroom HMO.
Despite repeated warnings, the landlord did not apply for a licence and the Council eventually visited with the Met Police and London Fire Brigade.
Officers found defective and damaged fire doors, inadequate fire separation between bedrooms and lack of fire safety protection in the boiler room or lobby, covered fire alarms and burnt out and loose electrical sockets.
Tenants were cooking in their room using camping-style facilities without proper kitchen facilities, and there was rising damp and mould growth throughout the property as well as single glazed windows with rotten frames, draughts and broken sashes.
The inside of the property was so damp that mushrooms were growing in upper floors.