£17k penalty for landlord who ignored final warning

A LANDLORD has been fined thousands of pounds for failing to tell the council he was letting out his properties.

The unnamed proprietor, from Southwell, was warned several times by Ashfield District Council that he needed to apply for a licence for the two houses he was renting out in Sutton-in-ashfield.

But he didn’t and was slapped with a £17,500 penalty. He accepted the fine and as a bargain is not being named by the council.

Not all private rented properties need a licence. But some do, as part of a scheme called selective licensing, where all properties in a certain area are covered and need to be applied for.

The scheme is designed to ensure landlords look after the homes they rent out, knowing their licence could be revoked if they don’t. In this case, the landlord was contacted several times by the council and was even given a final warning.

After he continued to ignore the warnings, officers visited his two properties and found them occupied and with safety concerns. Those concerns are being dealt with separately to the licencing offences.

John Bennett, Ashfield District Council’s executive director of place, said: “It is a criminal offence to let a privately rented property in a designated area without a selective licence in place. Penalties include prosecution and an unlimited fine or a financial penalty up to £30,000.

“Enforcement action is always a last result, we will always try to engage with, and support landlords to apply for their license first.

“Selective licensing has brought real positive changes to the designated areas, it allows the council to regulate the housing for the safety of both the tenants and the landlords.”

The landlord is one of several fined since the start of the selective licensing scheme. Six fines have been served to date, totalling £56,500.

The maximum fine per landlord is £30,000. Ashfield District Council said there are also 10 investigations for “similar offences” currently ongoing..