Fined HMO owner’s £1.1k bill for ignoring borough council

HMO crackdown... Stanley Street in Long Eaton (Credit: Google Maps)

An Erewash Borough Council investigation into an HMO – house of multiple occupation – has seen its owner taken to court and ordered to pay £1,145 in fines and costs.

The authority launched its prosecution of landlord Mahmood Rahemtulla after he ignored a request to supply documentation about tenancy agreements and rent deposits at the five-bed house in Long Eaton.

The council also wanted to know about other properties he has an interest in. A housing standards officer gave him a deadline to supply all the information – which he failed to meet.

Derby magistrates court heard he was obliged to supply the details under the Housing Act 2004 as part of an ongoing investigation into the HMO in Stanley Street.

Rahemtulla pleaded guilty to breaking the law. He was fined £433 and was ordered to pay the authority’s £535.80 legal costs, plus a victim surcharge of £177.

The prosecution comes as Erewash council seeks to control the number of HMOs in the borough. It is pursuing what is known as an Article 4 direction, which would require all houses of multiple occupation to seek planning permission – no matter how small they are.

The council is currently bound by national rules that exempt those with six occupants or fewer from needing consent. To protect tenants from being exploited, the town hall’s leader James Dawson and his top team on the Council Executive met to back imposing new minimum space standards for HMOs.

The “cabinet” meeting at Ilkeston Town Hall also gave the green light to a host of other stricter rules, including ones about kitchens and bathroom facilities.

Cllr Curtis Howard, who is Lead Member for Planning and Regeneration, said: “Unfortunately, there are some HMO landlords who ignore their legal obligations and duties, choose not to co-operate with the council, and expose tenants to unnecessary risks. The council will end this.”

He added: “It is frustrating that the convoluted process of seeking an Article 4 direction is so long and drawn out – but by early next year it will mean every new HMO in the borough will need planning consent.

“In the meantime our teams are coming down hard on those that think they can operate under the radar – and the successful prosecution of Rahemtulla stands as a warning to them.”