Two landlords have been ordered to pay more than £30,000 for breaching fire safety and over-occupancy licence conditions at their House of Multiple Occupation. Barnet council officers discovered that the home in Golders Green, north London, had no fire alarm or emergency lighting systems during a routine inspection. They found that six people were living at the address, which was only licenced to house five people. Landlords Mark Goldsmith and lian Hatuka were prosecuted by the council. They were found guilty of failing without reasonable excuse to comply with their licence conditions and were ordered to pay £15,420 each, including the council’s costs. Councillor Gabriel Rozenberg, chairman of the council’s housing committee, says: “All too often landlords think that their legal obligations are met when they submit their HMO licence application. However, all licences have conditions that landlords are legally obliged to comply with to ensure the safety of their tenants. I am delighted that the courts support our approach to driving up housing standards for tenants.”
Make A Comment
Comments (0)