A council has successfully prosecuted a landlord for not licensing two HMOs and failing to follow HMO Management Regulations.

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The landlord Mohammed Ammar Hussain of Hemel Hempstead entered a guilty plea to offences for failing to apply for HMO licences for two of his properties that he let out. He was also guilty of disregarding management regulations on three counts which included not having working fire alarms in the HMOs.

At the St Albans Magistrates' Court, the landlord was ordered to pay a total of £45,306 for a fine of £13,450, a £2,000 victim surcharge and £29,856 in prosecution costs.

In September 2022 the council executed a warrant at three addresses and when carrying out investigations of the three HMOs found that they were being let out illegally and there were numerous potential life threatening hazards to tenants.

In January 2023 the council had to return to properties because the landlord failed to apply for HMO licences, the officers found that two of the properties were still being let out unlicensed and he had not bothered to and rectify any of the hazards.

A council spokesperson says: “We recognise that most landlords are responsible and law abiding, caring deeply about providing the highest standards in their home.

"However, there is a small minority of landlords who choose not to comply with the law and their tenants suffer as a result. I’m very proud of the team for achieving this excellent result on behalf of our residents.

“It demonstrates our Housing Strategy commitment to championing the provision of safe, warm, and dry homes across the borough and putting our residents at the heart of everything we do."