17th
Mar 2022
A landlord’s fine of £5,000 for failing to apply for an HMO licence has been reduced by a massive 50 per cent.
The landlord held a successful appeal against the £5,000 fine by a First Tier Tribunal even though it said it supported the fine in principle but slashed the amount by half down to £2,500.
However ‘drunk on success’ the landlord decided to take a further step and launched a second appeal at the Upper Tribunal in London, claiming the authority served the notice out of time and its evidence was far from sufficient.
Judge Elizabeth Cooke presided over proceedings in the Upper Tribunal, however was not so forthcoming for the plaintiff when she stated she backed the First Tier Tribunal decision and turned down the landlord’s further appeal on both counts.
A spokesperson for the Welwyn Hatfield council, says: “These tribunal decisions have vindicated the decision of our officers to fine a landlord who was not acting lawfully and continued to operate without the correct licence.
“We want to reassure private sector tenants that they can find good quality, fully vetted tenancies by going through our landlord accreditation scheme."
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