William Edwards was prosecuted after Oxford City Council officers found that the property he was renting out in Dene Road was in a poor state of repair.
 |
| [relatedPosts title=”Related Posts”] |
|
|
- Council: Oxford City Council
- Fine: £6,000
- Costs: £350
- Total: £6,350
Officers first contacted Mr Edwards in April 2013 when he applied for the property to be a HMO (House in Multiple Occupation). The Council had informed him that he was considered not to be a ‘fit and proper person’ as described by the Housing Act 2004.
Officers visited the property in May 2013 but could not gain access even though the tenants and landlord were informed that a full inspection would take place of the property.
In June, officers wrote to the landlord again and informed him that the Council had obtained a warrant to enter the property. There was no answer from the property on the day the warrant was executed.
Officers gained access and found several contraventions to the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006, including:
- There was no sign displayed in a prominent position within the HMO, giving the managers name, address and telephone contact details.
- The smoke alarm in the kitchen was not in working order.
- There was no handrail to the staircase.
- There was a broken light fitting to the staircase which had no bulb.
- The window to the ground floor bathroom window and the window to the ground floor front bedroom was rotted to excess.
Officers have also never received a copy of the electrical installation or gas safety certificate.
The landlord, of Lytton Road, Oxford failed to attend Oxford Magistrates Court on Monday 17 March and was fined in his absence.
He was fined £1,000 for failing to licence a HMO, £500 for each defect relating to the property which totalled £5000, £100 victim surcharge and £350 in costs.
Mr Edwards was originally prosecuted in February 2013 after officers visited the property in December 2011.
He was fined £200 for failing to licence the property, £50 for failing to display landlord details, £200 for failing to protect occupiers from injury, £200 for failing to provide a gas safety certificate and £200 for failing to ensure the HMO was in a safe working condition. He was also fined £250 costs.
Councillor Ed Turner, Deputy Leader of Oxford City Council, says: “The Council has a responsibility to help protect the vulnerable and ensure that people who are renting do not live in these conditions.
“The HMO scheme works to tackle this and the team are working hard to find those landlords who think they can evade the system.”
