Two Swansea landlords have been hit with heavy fines after failing to license their properties. Swansea Council is now urging landlords who rent out Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in the city to check if they need a licence.
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Fines of more than £9,000 were handed out to Huw Rees Davies of Llangennech, Llanelli and Mark Gethin Harris of Mildenhall, Suffolk.
Both men own HMOs in the city centre but had failed to obtain licences, after several reminders from the Council.
Mr Davies, appeared before Cardiff Magistrates and was fined a total of £1,450 in relation to two properties at William Street and Clarence Street. He pleaded guilty to a total of 15 offences including failure to license an HMO at one property and breaching licensing conditions at another.
Mr Harris appeared before Swansea Magistrates and pleaded guilty to 12 offences linked to a house at Chaddesley Terrace. They included failure to license an HMO and failure to comply with Management Regulations. He was fined a total of £8,000.
The Council was awarded a total of £2,193 costs for both cases.
Mark Child, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Wellbeing, said: “Tenants in private rented accommodation in Swansea need to be reassured that the property they are living in is safe and is maintained to an acceptable standard.
“The licensing scheme we have in place helps to verify that landlords are carrying out their responsibilties to provide good quality accommodation.
“We will continue to prosecute anyone who fails to license their property when they are required to. If landlords are unsure whether they need a licence they can contact the Council for advice.”
Landlords of HMOs in Swansea must acquire an HMO Licence and manage their property in accordance with the HMO Management Regulations.
There are around 2000 HMOs in Swansea, many of which are located in the two central wards of Castle and Uplands.
All HMOs in Castle and Uplands need to be licensed. HMOs in other areas require a licence if there are three or more floors and five or more occupants.
