A buy-to-let landlord in London has been ordered to pay more than £9,000 for failing to license a HMO.
Across Tower Hamlets, landlords are required to license HMOs that have three or four occupants living as two or more households with shared facilities that are not already covered by the mandatory scheme that exists for larger HMOs of five or more tenants.
But Thames Magistrates Court heard that Mohammed Saleh Ahmed opted to ignore the rules by not licensing his property in the local area. Consequently, the landlord was handed a £4,000 fine plus costs of over £5,000.
John Biggs, mayor of Tower Hamlets, said: “This case sends out a message to show that the council can and will enforce against landlords who fail to register their properties and that they face serious penalties for failing to do so.
“This prosecution action and the new scheme shows we are taking action to protect tenants and support standards for renters in the private rented sector.”
The licensing scheme, designed to ensure that properties are managed effectively and provide a safe home for tenants, effectively makes landlords accountable for the their tenants’ behaviour.
Cllr Sirajul Islam, deputy mayor for housing and statutory deputy mayor, said: “The council cares about renters and will insist that landlords get the necessary licensing that protects both landlord and tenants.
“Housing is at such a premium in the borough that shared overcrowded flats used by multiple tenants are common. The scheme is essential in protecting health and safety for tenants and has real teeth.”
Planning to post a comment below?
‘You agree not to (i) post content which is deliberately intended to upset or harm other users; (ii) use this Site to post or otherwise transmit content that victimises, harasses, degrades, or intimidates an individual or group of individuals on the basis of any impermissible classification, including, without limitation, religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, colour, creed, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship, age, marital status, military status or disability.’
We're excited to announce that we're working on building a shiny new website for readers of Landlord Today! As part of this process, commenting on articles will be temporarily disabled. We look forward to sharing our new and improved Landlord Today website with you shortly!
.png)
(1).png)
.jpg)
%20(002).png)
