A landlord with a rental property in Redbridge has been fined £5,770.
It is understood that council enforcement officers were ‘tipped off’ that the landlord in Redbridge was operating an HMO property without a licence in Romford, Essex. On inspection the officers also found that the property had virtually no fire safety measures such as smoke alarms and fire blankets.
Furthermore, the landlord also failed to provide enough bins for tenants to dispose of the rubbish properly.
On 11 October the landlord pleaded guilty to all the charges relating to operating a unlicensed HMO and was fined £3860, with costs of £1790 and a victim surcharge of £120.
79% of private rental properties in Redbridge are covered by the council’s selective licensing scheme. Those that do not comply face being prosecuted and/or fined. Redbridge has also signed up to the Mayor of London’s Rogue Landlords and Lettings Agents Checker. This means if you have been prosecuted tenants can find your details on the Mayor of London’s Checker which could impact your business and/or ability to rent out your property.
We have stressed a number of times how important it is that landlords and agents ensure that they comply with any local licensing obligations. Unfortunately, we still hear from agents and landlords that the reason for failing to obtain a licence is because they were not aware of any such scheme in their area. This is where local knowledge and training helps and really should not be overlooked or dismissed in order to ensure that properties are rented to tenants in a safe and licensed condition.
Published 21 November 2019
