An Oxford landlord has been handed fines totalling £4,500 for renting
out a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) that was unlicensed and in a
state of disrepair.
Jeffeth Junior Latchman, 49, of Garsington appeared before Oxford
Magistrates' Court on Monday 5 January 2015 after being prosecuted for
running the HMO in Nowell Road.
Concerns over conditions at the property and its status were raised
when one of the tenants complained to the City Council about the poor
living conditions in the property.
An environmental health officer from the City Council's HMO Enforcement
Team visited the property in August last year to follow up and deal
with the tenants’ concerns. The officer determined the property to be an
unlicensed and unsafe HMO in disrepair, which was also infested with
cockroaches.
Latchman pleaded guilty to being in control of an unlicensed HMO and received a fine of £2,000 for failing to obtain a licence.
He also pleaded guilty to five breaches of the Management of Houses in
Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006, and was fined £500 per
offence. Three of the offences were failing to ensure that adequate
safety measures were taken within the property, including a broken fire
alarm system, an obstructed means of escape in case of fire and lack of
fire resisting doors. Two further offences were for disrepair.
In addition, the Magistrates' Court ordered Latchman to pay all the council's costs of £815 for bringing the case to court.
Councillor Ed Turner, board member for finance, asset management and
public health, says: "It is good that this landlord has been brought to
book for running a cockroach-infested property in the way he did.
"Landlords who fail to meet their responsibilities to their tenants and
the wider community should be in no doubt that they will be prosecuted,
and the courts are now imposing substantial fines."
http://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/news_features/Oxford-landlord-fined-for-running-unlicensed-poorly-maintained-HMO
No comments:
Post a Comment