A letting agent who ran a house of multiple occupation (HMO) without a licence has been fined a total of £14,120. Shahnawaz Lal, sole director of Haris properties, located in Lincoln Road, Peterborough, pleaded guilty, on behalf of his company, to running the former guest house in Limetree Avenue as a house in multiple occupation without a licence at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court last Wednesday (4 December 2013). Haris properties was fined £3,000 for this offence.
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The property was made subject to an interim management order in November 2012 following a visit by Peterborough City Council officers who found the property to be in an appalling state of repair.
During the investigation officers found 11 rooms were occupied by a variety of tenants including a young lady with a small baby and a family of four adults in one room. There was evidence of drug use throughout the common parts of the property and a large number of discarded needles both inside and outside the house.
The fire alarm system was not working and several of the smoke detectors had been broken or covered over to allow tenants to smoke in their rooms. The main fire escape route was blocked with discarded rubbish and bed bug infested beds. The front door and rear fire escape door were insecure allowing free access to the building by those wanting to use drugs and as a place to sleep overnight.
Several persons were ejected from the property during the following days after being found sleeping in the storage cupboards and the boiler room.
Lal, on behalf of Haris Properties, also pleaded guilty to two offences under Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation Regulations in relation to fire safety and failure to maintain the common parts in a clean and safe condition. Haris Properties was fined £2,500 and £1,500 respectively for these offences. The court awarded costs of £7,000 to the city council with a victim surcharge of £120. The district judge acknowledged the seriousness of the offences and ordered that the fines be paid within 28 days.
Charges were dropped against the owners of the property as Lal admitted having control and managing the property on a day to day basis.
Jo Hodges, Senior Housing Enforcement Officer for Peterborough City Council, said: “The dangerous living conditions, and inadequate fire safety, caused by a total lack of management within the property, resulted in the fire service attending to fit temporary fire protection and then the council arranging for alternative management of the house and undertaking over £12,000 of repairs to bring the property back to a decent living standard. Fire safety is of paramount importance in HMOs and particularly so in a property of this size, housing so many tenants”
“This property was turning over an income of around £3,500 per month and tenants were forced to live in unsafe and filthy conditions. The authority will not hesitate to take enforcement action against landlords and agents who flout the law putting the safety of their tenants at risk whilst maximising their profits.”
When the council takes over the management of a property it retains any excess rental income to pay for repairs. Any outstanding costs for repairs following the interim management order are included in the new licence conditions and are required to be paid back.
