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Failing to Licence Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) Prosecution by Council

Bath & North East Somerset Council has prosecuted two Landlords for failing to make a valid application for a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licence. Mrs Elizabeth Vowles and Mrs Hayley Book, of Weston, Bath, appeared at Bath Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, 28th September, and pleaded guilty to the Housing Act 2004 offence.

The court heard that Mrs Vowles and Mrs Book were caught operating two HMOs in the Additional Licensing Area, without a licence in January.

The Landlords had another HMO in the Additional Licensing Area and should therefore have been aware of the obligations upon them. As a result of the current breaches, and in light of their previous history, the Council took the decision to prosecute.

One of the properties was a three-storey HMO shared by four occupants. This property failed to meet the HMO Licensing Standards due to locks on doors, lack of fire alarms and a fire door in disrepair.

The other property was a two-storey HMO shared by three occupants. This property failed to meet the HMO Licensing Standards due to locks on doors, and poor maintenance of the garden.

The court sentenced Mrs Elizabeth Vowles to an £8,000 fine (£4,000 for each property) and she was ordered to pay the prosecution costs of £550 and the victim surcharge of £170.

The court sentenced Mrs Hayley Book to an £8,000 fine (£4,000 for each property) and she was ordered to pay the prosecution costs of £550 and the victim surcharge of £170.

Councillor Paul Myers (Conservative, Midsomer Norton Redfield), Cabinet Member for Economic & Community Regeneration, said: “Our Housing Services will try to work in partnership with landlords to improve housing standards wherever possible. Additional licensing helps to ensure that occupants of HMOs are able to live in safe and well managed properties. Where landlords fail to licence their properties such as the case here, they are undermining the objectives of the additional licensing scheme.”

Additional licensing was brought in by the Council in 2014 to address issues of poor management in small HMOs with three or more persons in certain areas of Bath.

Source: MNR Journal

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Oxford landlord convicted of repeat HMO offences

An Oxford landlord has been convicted for the second time in 12 months for operating an unlicensed House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) and ordered to pay a total of £6,146 in fines and costs. The investigation followed a fire in the house which had a faulty fire detection system.

Mr Zahid Ali Rana, 58, of Boundary Brook Road, Oxford, was prosecuted after environmental health staff from Oxford City Council visited his home in March 2017. As three lodgers were living in the property with him, the house should have been licensed as an HMO. The central heating did not work and there was refuse in the garden.

When the case was heard before Oxford Magistrates’ Court on 16 October 2017 Mr Rana pleaded guilty to the offence of failing to licence the property and was fined £1,600. He was also fined £2,800 in total for three HMO management offences and ordered to pay surcharges and council costs of £1,746. Rana had previously been convicted on 4 October 2016 of managing an unlicensed HMO at Freelands Road that was also unsafe.

Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, Board Member for Planning and Regulatory Services, said: “The City Council is committed to protecting private tenants from rogue landlords who fail to license their properties or manage them to acceptable standards. As this case involves a repeat offender, we expected a higher fine to reflect the seriousness of the offence and the appalling conditions we found the property in. This case is also one of the few remaining prosecutions in the system. Going forward, the Council will be regularly using financial penalties to deal with unlicensed HMOs and to secure compliance with HMO licence conditions where landlords have failed to improve their properties.”

The Housing and Planning Act 2016 allows councils to impose civil fines of up to £30,000 as an alternative to prosecution for housing offences. The City Council will use these new powers to improve conditions in the poorest quality private rented housing in the city.

Source: Oxford City Council

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Big crackdown on landlords by Thurrock Council

LANDLORDS of houses of multiple occupation [HMOs} and commercial dwellings with flats above shops faced a surprise earlier this month (Tuesday 3 October) during a council crackdown.

Officers from the Council’s housing, food safety and waste enforcement teams along with officers from Essex Police visited 80 homes suspected to be operating as unlicensed HMOs.

After the day of action, three licensable HMOs operating without a license, 18 non licensable HMOs, four landlords for planning and building enforcement prosecution and three empty homes were found and seven Environmental Protection Notices were served on local businesses.

Portfolio Holder for Housing, Cllr Rob Gledhill said: “Houses of Multiple Occupation Landlords are currently subject to mandatory licensing for three storey buildings occupied by five persons in two or more households.

“This currently limits the number of properties under this scheme but I am anticipating that the requirement is going to be extended by the government to include all properties with five or more people in two or more households meaning the 18 non licensable HMOs identified during the day of action will fall under this category next year.”

Letting a licensable HMO without a licence is a criminal offence and can result in an unlimited fine upon conviction. Persons managing or having control of a licensable HMO without a licence may also, in certain cases, have to repay rent. This applies to rent paid by tenants or by local authorities in housing benefit.

Cllr Gledhill added: “I would like to thank all those taking part in this operation to show we take this issue seriously. This was a coordinated effort to tackle poor performing landlords of HMOs and flats above shops where tenants are complaining to us about living in poorly maintained homes.

“`While we recognise that most private landlords comply with regulations and offer a good service to their tenants, it is important that we deal robustly with those in the sector who fall short of these standards.

“We are looking at extending licensing to include small HMOs in certain parts of the borough associated with anti-social behaviour and poor health and safety conditions to ensure that minimum standards are being met.”

If you have information about an unlicensed HMO, you can give us details by e-mailing private.housing@thurrock.gov.uk or visit: thurrock.gov.uk/houses-in-multiple-occupation for more information.

Source: Your Thurrock