Dacorum Borough Council  has prosecuted a landlord for not having an HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) licence and for other counts of breaking hosing regulations. The council successfully achieved being awarded over £10,000 including court costs. They are hoping that that this will serve as a warning to all landlords who are operating illegally.

The landlord who owned the property received a fine of £3,400 for non compliance of renting a property without a necessary licence as well as £500 for not carrying out repairs issued in an improvements notice. Additionally she was ordered to pay further fines for not meeting safety standard requirements and for fire and food safety/amenities that were insufficient.

Nicholas Egerton, environmental protection and housing team leader for regulatory services at the local authority, said: “A house in multiple occupation licence is required if there are five or more people forming two or more households and the property has three or more storeys.

“In order to obtain a licence to operate a HMO, Mrs Bunker would have needed to carry out works to her property to ensure it was suitable to rent to tenants.

“Despite many warnings and a previous prosecution for a similar offence, no licence was obtained for the premises or any of the works carried out. We have now taken over management of the property for a 12 month period via an interim management order.

“The council will ensure the premises are bought up to a suitable standard and will recover all costs from the owner.”

Cabinet member for residents and regulatory services Neil Harden said: “The Council takes the safety of tenants in the private rented sector very seriously.

“Whilst Environmental Health Officers work closely with private sector landlords to ensure appropriate standards within HMOs, sometimes it is necessary to take enforcement action. We hope this sends a strong message to any private sector landlords who might be tempted to cut corners at the expense of tenants’ safety.”

Richard Merrick of PIMS said: "Although there are increasing number of stories in the press about HMO licence compliance, there is little coverage gained about rented properties that are managed well, clean and offer all the amenities that people expect.

"Although these stories do act as reminders  to make sure of the dates for renewing the required licences."