Landlord of dangerous HMO where foreign tenants spoke little English hit with huge fine
A landlord has been found guilty and fined £40,000 for letting out a dangerous and unlicensed House in Multiple Occupation. It is the second largest fine levied against a landlord obtained by City of Lincoln Council.
Julie Churchill’s property was deemed dangerous by the magistrates for failing to comply with a number of safety breaches under the Housing Act 2004.
It had no fire doors to the bedrooms, ground floor lounge or kitchen, no working fire alarms on the ground floor, and one of the bedroom doors had a large gap to the top which would allow smoke to pass in the event of a fire. Three of the bedroom doors could be locked by a padlock which if in use would not allow for a quick exit.
The court heard that if a fire had erupted in this building, these inadequate fire warning systems and lack of fire containment measures would have put the tenants at extreme risk.
The stairs were painted gloss black and had no slip resistance in the event of a tenant falling, and the kitchen did not have adequate facilities for the seven tenants living in the property. One of the occupied bedrooms was below the legal minimum size for an adult.
It was heard in court that the repair of these defects would have cost Churchill as little as £6,000.
When the four-bedroom property was inspected by police and housing officers under a magistrates’ court warrant in January, the occupants were found to be seven unrelated eastern European and sub-Saharan immigrants in four bedrooms.
The tenants spoke little English and were unaware of their rights, receiving no tenancy agreement, rent book or rent receipt during their tenancy. Only two of the seven tenants knew what the landlord’s name was.
It was discovered that Churchill was taking up to £1,480 per month in rent, which at that rate would give her an income of approximately £35,520 over the two years she had owned the property.
Cllr Donald Nannestad, portfolio holder for quality housing at City of Lincoln Council, said: “We’re extremely pleased to bring another case to justice as part of our ongoing battle to crack down on rogue landlords.”
