A lettings firm has been hit with a bill of over £10,000 after a property it managed was found to have no HMO licence.
Saxons, in Colchester, managed the property on behalf of landlord Jide Ulugbodi.
Tenants moved in during September 2017 but experienced problems including appliances not working, dampness which prevented use of the lounge, broken windows and unsafe decking in the garden.
The tenants said they repeatedly complained to Saxons but nothing was done.
Council inspectors found the property breached HMO management regulations and was not licensed.
A licence was subsequently applied for and issued.
At Chelmsford Magistrates Court, Ulugbodi admitted to failing to license the property and breaching HMO regulations.
Saxons has previously admitted the charges at an earlier hearing.
Olugobodi was ordered to pay over £6,000 in fines, costs and victim surcharges. Saxons was ordered to pay over £10,000.
A spokesperson for Saxons told the local paper: “We accept the judge’s findings.
“The property came under our management without a HMO licence. Within a reasonable time the licence had been acquired.
“We were liaising with the council throughout the process but they still decided to prosecute.”
Comments (2)
I have yet to find a council that will not advise agents if they ask or who take action without first serving a notice to put in order. You don’t just end up in court one day!
I think the whole change in HMO licensing, and the fact that each Local Authority can choose to do what they like, is a recipe for disaster and confusion. Agents should be contacting guys like Paul at HMOServicesLondon to not only check if their properties require HMOs but as importantly what their landlords can do to comply. Agents have quite enough legal bumf to worry about and given a landlord will pay, outsourcing it, and training staff to deal correctly with the issue, has to be the answer?