A landlord faces a total of £5,200 in fines and costs after being found guilty at Watford Magistrates court of nine offences relating to the safety of tenants at her rented property in Wood Close, Hatfield.
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This is the second successful prosecution by Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council of a landlord in the last few weeks, involving offences which could endanger the safety of tenants by not applying for a licence when required to do so.
Mrs Zubera Laskar pleaded guilty on Monday 8 July to nine offences that were presented to the court by the council, in respect of a rented house in Hatfield.
The principal charge related to her failure to apply for the required Licence to operate a House in Multiple Occupation together with several other issues concerning fire safety at the property at 70 Wood Close, Hatfield. These included the offences that the means of fire detection, alarm, and emergency lighting were insufficient, that fire doors to several rooms were found to be defective, that some exit doors were a fire safety hazard as they could be kept locked and that flammable items were stored in the escape route.
Mrs Laskar was found guilty of contravening Section 72 of the Housing Act 2004, together with eight breaches of the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation Regulations 2006 (“the Regulations”).
The charges were brought by the council for breaches of these Regulations, following inspection by the council’s Private Sector Housing Team in December 2012.
Fines and costs came to a total of £5,200, which also included a victim surcharge of £200. Mrs Laskar was fined £2000 for failure to license, £250 each for the other eight offences with a £200 victim surcharge and payment of £1000 towards the costs.
Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council is responsible for licensing high risk Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) that consist of three or more storeys and have five or more occupiers, plus dealing with complaints regarding the standard of rented properties. Because this landlord has now been convicted of these offences she will not be considered a ‘fit and proper’ person, which means she cannot hold an HMO licence.
Councillor Roger Trigg, Executive Member for Housing and Community said: “We have recently successfully prosecuted two landlords in the borough and I hope this shows both tenants and landlords how seriously we take the need to protect the safety of tenants. The council seeks to work with private landlords as much as possible and we always regard prosecution as a last resort. But we would like to send out a clear message to landlords who do not respond to the advice, information and support that we provide, that we will take enforcement action against landlords who do not comply with the law.”
The council runs a Private Landlords’ Forum three times a year, which aims to provide landlords with a networking opportunity. This also gives key information about local issues, changes in the law and good practice.
Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service helped the council by assisting with the inspections of the property and by giving expert evidence in support of the council’s prosecution.
