City council cracks down on HMOs
Added 26.06.09
A man from Leeds has become the second landlord from the city to be fined for failing to licence a house in multiple occupation, after Leeds City Council took him to court.
Mohammed Arass Butt pleaded guilty to failing to properly licence a property he owned on Stratford Terrace, Beeston. He was fined £840 and ordered to pay £1,207.97 in costs and a £15 victim surcharge – a total of £2,062.97.
The three-storey property of bed-sits occupied by five unrelated people should have been licensed under Leeds City Council’s Houses in Multiple Occupancy (HMO) licensing scheme.
The council told the court that this property type, housing mainly vulnerable people, would be regarded as a higher fire risk.
In August last year, officials targeted HMOs in the Beeston area where no licence application had been received, but according to Council Tax records there may have been some form of multiple occupation.
When the Environmental Health Officer visited the property, he confirmed that there were five let bedsits on three storeys, and a shared bathroom and shared toilet compartment. This confirmed that the property falls within the definition of a licensable HMO.
This prosecution follows a similar case in May, when Futura 2000 Ltd (trading as Apex Homes) was fined £3,500, and was ordered to pay £1,500 in costs and £15 victim surcharge. The company acted as managing agents for a shared student property in Kensington Terrace, Headingley.
The Housing Act 2004 introduced a legal requirement for shared houses and bedsits with more than four occupiers and over more than two storeys to be licensed by the council as House in Multiple Occupation (HMO). The Licence Conditions set standards for fire safety and for amenities.
It was the first time the council has successfully prosecuted a private landlord under the new rules.
Following the introduction of HMO Licensing in 2006, Leeds City Council widely publicised the new legal requirement amongst landlords and managing agents, and has since processed more than 2,600 applications for HMO Licences, which represents 18 percent of the total number for all the councils in England.
Councillor Les Carter, Leeds City Council’s executive board member for housing, said: “Leeds has a huge private rented sector and ensuring all Houses in Multiple Occupancy are licensed has been a mammoth task.
“Thousands of landlords have complied with the requirement to license their property and it would be unfair on them, as well as tenants, if we were not seen to take firm action against those who don’t follow the rules.
“While this case follows a crackdown in Beeston, it should send a clear message to landlords across the city that we will take legal action against those who have not applied.”
News feed courtesy of Residential Landlord