A property services company in Nottingham has been ordered to pay over £7,000 for failing to license six properties.
At sentencing, Nottingham Magistrates Court ordered Bramley Apple Properties, trading as Jillings Estates of Southwell, to pay a fine and legal costs totalling £7,349.
Nottingham City Council prosecuted the company for failing to license a number of properties within its management control. The company pleaded guilty in court on November 5 to six offences.
The total rental income for the six properties amounted to around £3,595 per month. The cost of licensing all six properties, being managed on behalf of owners living abroad, would be £4,680 for up to five years, said the council.
Cllr Linda Woodings, portfolio holder for planning, housing and heritage, said: “The selective licensing scheme has been active in the city for well over a year now – so there really is no excuse for not licensing properties. What is particularly disappointing is that this is a professional company failing in their duty.
“Tenants deserve to live in a certain standard of home, and the licence helps to ensure they get that.
“I hope this puts out a message to other property agents, companies and landlords that if they don’t work with us to license their properties, then they could face prosecution.”
Comments (2)
Can Nottingham Licensing tell us how that is helping the tenants?
Every time u issue a fine, u take money away from the tenant. The tenant will be paying more rent now if was paying ‘cheap’ rent before.
Can we not see what Licensing was supposed to be for? Improving tenants homes & lives! That tenants life may now be getting worse.
Licensing wasn’t bought out to say Right, u all paying a tax which your tenants are gonna end up paying. And we’re gonna use your money to go after those that don’t pay. So unfortunately no houses are gonna get better, but we gonna employ 76 people at the council to collect this tax and do a lot of paperwork.
This agency lived miles away from Nottingham and may have not known about Licensing.
How about working with him or her? Get the license fee, which Landlord should be paying anyway, but No, the council abuse their powers and go for the jugular. No helping the Landlord at all.
Be interesting if we find out if these tenants are made homeless soon as many are from Licensing
Regarding….
” Tenants deserve to live in a certain standard of home, and the licence helps to ensure they get that. ”
I’m not sure that Licensing does actually achieve that, given that many properties aren’t inspected.
Local Authorities are only interested in raising the cash from a License fee, which if we’re honest, is inevitable going to come from increases in the rent.
Cost of providing accommodation increase = so does rent.
Local Authorities and the Govt should be mindful that their are not ‘ authors ‘ of their own increases in costs and reduction in supply of affordable housing.
Licensing fees = increased rent = evictions = increased Temporary Accommodation costs = Lower standard of housing = more revenue demands on L.A’s / Council Tax.
Its not just landlords that should be questioning Licensing schemes and other Regulatory Housing costs, but Council Tax -payers in general. !