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£2,869 penalty for Cornwall landlord running unsafe HMO (4 May 2017)

Date: 04/05/2017
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, £2,869 penalty for Cornwall landlord running unsafe HMO

Cornwall Council has successfully prosecuted a private sector landlord for the unsafe running of a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) in Camborne.

Russel Pomeroy of 19 Wheal Agar, Pool, Redruth in Cornwall appeared at Truro Magistrates’ Court charged with several housing offences relating to his property at 15 Basset Road in Camborn.

A council inspection in 2016 revealed that the property was not being managed adequately, placing the residents at serious risk of harm.

At the time of the inspection, the fire alarm system was in a state of disrepair and smoke detectors were missing from four rooms.

A condition of the HMO licence was that safe, fixed, controllable heating must be provided – but there was no fixed form of heating in any of the rooms, with the tenants having to use portable heaters. In addition, some of the rooms were suffering from extensive mould growth.

Pomeroy entered two guilty pleas to charges that he failed to comply with the requirements of his mandatory house in multiple occupation licence conditions – and six breaches of the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006.

He was fined a total of £2,869, including a £1,386 fine for the offences, as well as £1,345 in costs and a victim surcharge of £138.

Principal Environmental Health Officer from the council’s Private Sector Housing Team, Stuart Kenney, said:

“The council has taken similar prosecution cases in the recent past involving serious disrepair, hazards and substandard management practices – and offenders have been ordered by the courts to pay fines in excess of £20,000, which serves to be a significant punishment that ensures that it is not cheaper to offend than comply.”

Cornwall Council said that laws which came into force on 6 April 2017 will help it to crack down on some rogue landlords who continue to “shirk their legal responsibilities and place tenants at risk of harm”.

The council said that one of the main changes is that the council can now issue penalties of up to £30,000 as an alternative to prosecution for a range of housing offences – which will act as “a strong deterrent and significant punishment for placing the lives of tenants at risk”.

Landlords and property agents are being encouraged to join Cornwall Council’s responsible landlord scheme to stay up to date with changes in the law and any associated policy changes.

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