HMO landlord fine for dangerous property
An unlicensed landlord who rented out rooms with dangerous electrics and refused to pay a civil fine, will have the fine collected before the property can be sold.
The council took a civil case against the landlord due to the dangerous standard of living conditions in the Home of Multiple Occupancy, or HMO.
A £37,000 penalty charge notice was issued in June this year due to a breach of Management Regulations and failure to comply with an Improvement Notice. The landlord refused to pay the fine or engage in any correspondence with the council.
The council applied to the County Court for a judgement, which was granted this month, for the £37,000 charge to been placed on the property. It means the sum will have to be paid before the house can be sold.
Rooms in the house in St Pauls Avenue were being rented out separately to tenants despite
the presence of serious hazards including single pieces of wire being used instead of fuses and dangerous wiring to an outbuilding which was believed to be used as accommodation.
Requests for work to be carried out to a basic standard of safety were ignored and the housing and regulations team requested the council’s repairs, maintenance and investment partners, Osborne, to go into the house and make it safe for tenants.
Rhian Richards, housing regulation manager, said: “People were living in dangerous conditions where there could have been a serious incident which could have put the tenants at risk of harm.
“When we tried to engage with the landlord we were not successful and had to bring in a team of electricians and gas engineers to make sure the tenants were able to live in the basic level of safety.
“The only option was to serve the landlord with a Penalty Charge Notice which they failed to pay.
“Now the charge on the property will prevent the owner from selling the property without first paying the full amount to Slough Borough Council.
“We hope this will serve as a warning that we will be relentless in pursuing those landlords who put their tenant’s at risk and ignoring the law and our correspondence could prove very costly in the long run.”
The aim of the new licensing system brought in by Slough Borough Council is to improve the standards of the thousands of rental properties, which are people’s homes, and make tenants safe.
Landlords have to provide evidence their property is safe and has a valid gas safe certificate. They will also be required to provide contact details so tenants can get problems fixed.
Under the new landlord licensing scheme a landlord of any rental property within the designated area covering parts of Chalvey and Central wards, is required to apply for and obtain a licence.
Applications for the Selective Licensing Scheme, for all rental properties within this designated area, will be subject to a charge of just £200 plus the £300 enforcement fee.
In the Additional Licence scheme each HMO property of up to six rooms attracts a £450 licence fee and a £300 enforcement fee. There will be an additional charge of £30 per extra room after the initial six.
All licences last for up to five years.
The council took a civil case against the landlord due to the dangerous standard of living conditions in the Home of Multiple Occupancy, or HMO.
A £37,000 penalty charge notice was issued in June this year due to a breach of Management Regulations and failure to comply with an Improvement Notice. The landlord refused to pay the fine or engage in any correspondence with the council.
The council applied to the County Court for a judgement, which was granted this month, for the £37,000 charge to been placed on the property. It means the sum will have to be paid before the house can be sold.
Rooms in the house in St Pauls Avenue were being rented out separately to tenants despite
the presence of serious hazards including single pieces of wire being used instead of fuses and dangerous wiring to an outbuilding which was believed to be used as accommodation.
Requests for work to be carried out to a basic standard of safety were ignored and the housing and regulations team requested the council’s repairs, maintenance and investment partners, Osborne, to go into the house and make it safe for tenants.
Rhian Richards, housing regulation manager, said: “People were living in dangerous conditions where there could have been a serious incident which could have put the tenants at risk of harm.
“When we tried to engage with the landlord we were not successful and had to bring in a team of electricians and gas engineers to make sure the tenants were able to live in the basic level of safety.
“The only option was to serve the landlord with a Penalty Charge Notice which they failed to pay.
“Now the charge on the property will prevent the owner from selling the property without first paying the full amount to Slough Borough Council.
“We hope this will serve as a warning that we will be relentless in pursuing those landlords who put their tenant’s at risk and ignoring the law and our correspondence could prove very costly in the long run.”
The aim of the new licensing system brought in by Slough Borough Council is to improve the standards of the thousands of rental properties, which are people’s homes, and make tenants safe.
Landlords have to provide evidence their property is safe and has a valid gas safe certificate. They will also be required to provide contact details so tenants can get problems fixed.
Under the new landlord licensing scheme a landlord of any rental property within the designated area covering parts of Chalvey and Central wards, is required to apply for and obtain a licence.
Applications for the Selective Licensing Scheme, for all rental properties within this designated area, will be subject to a charge of just £200 plus the £300 enforcement fee.
In the Additional Licence scheme each HMO property of up to six rooms attracts a £450 licence fee and a £300 enforcement fee. There will be an additional charge of £30 per extra room after the initial six.
All licences last for up to five years.
