Gloucester City Council’s Private Sector Housing Team are working hard to identify and improve Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO’s) in the centre of the city.
Since March this year, medical officers from the council and Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service have carried out unannounced inspections of over 30 properties in the Barton & Tredworth and Westgate wards of Gloucester.
Properties were selected based on their external appearance or due to having a known history of poor condition and overcrowding. The vast majority of the properties inspected were found to be poorly managed, with many having very serious hazards or overcrowding issues.
On top of these breaches, six properties were found to be unlicensed HMO’s.
Under legislation dating back to 2004, HMO’s with three storeys or more that accommodate five or more tenants have to be licensed. Failure to licence them with the local authority is an immediate offence. Any landlords found to be flouting the law are dealt with severely.
Julie Wight, Private Sector Housing Service Manager, said: “These landlords may think that avoiding their legal requirements is ‘worth the risk’, but the courts take a dim view of this.
“Not only are they likely to receive a hefty court fine, but action can be taken to retrieve all rent money paid to them whilst the property was operating illegally”
In one case, Asif Cassim the owner of 5 Nettleton Rd, was successfully prosecuted for continuing to let the property. This was despite having been served with a Prohibition Order preventing the property from being let to anyone due to its dangerous condition. The case was heard at Cheltenham Magistrates on Monday 12thOctober 2015 and Cassim was ordered to pay fines totalling £1140.
Paul White from the National Landlords Association and Peter Whitestone of the Gloucestershire Landlords Association welcome this initiative to crack down on Rogue Landlords as they believe the activities of unscrupulous Landlords tarnishes the reputation of the compliant landlords who do not put their tenants at risk by renting out sub standard accommodation.
Cllr Mary Smith, chair of the group of cross party councillors who are overseeing this work, said: “Good quality rented accommodation is desperately needed in thecity, so it is a worry to find a sub class of very poor accommodation being managed by either incompetent or exploitative landlords.
“The success of this case sends out a strong message to private landlords in the city, that breaking the law and endangering tenants will not be tolerated.”
If you have any information on rogue landlords, or safety concerns about your private rented property, contact the council on 01452 396396 or email heretohelp@gloucester.gov.uk to speak to the housing team.