Landlords fined

An Oxford landlord has been prosecuted for three offences under the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) (England) Regulations 2006 and one under the Housing Act 2004 for renting out a sub-standard property and failing to comply with licence conditions. The landlord was fined a total of £2,200 and was also ordered to pay Oxford City Council costs of £400. The garden to the property was littered with household and other hazardous rubbish and there were elements of disrepair in the fabric of the dwelling, including missing ceiling lights. Other breaches included missing information, required under the HMO regulations. Other repairs requested by Oxford Council had not been carried out.

October 2010

Tenants of rogue landlord in Reading has been handed fines totalling £60,000 because they had to endure dangerous and dirty living conditions which included missing and broken windows, a WC which didn’t work, a leaking and collapsed ceiling and a defective fire alarm. Reading Council began investigating the landlord in 2007 and raised safety issues at that time. Under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System Regulations, landlords are duty bound to ensure the safety and health of their tenants. Despite numerous attempts to get the landlord to carry out improvements, none were made. In November 2010, Reading Magistrates Court fined the landlord, £5k for each of the 12 offences amounting to £60k. The property will now be sold and redeveloped.

November 2010