Landlord Guilty of Breach under Housing Act: Houses in Multiple Occupation

A man from Hampton Bishop near Hereford has been prosecuted for not registering a rental property as a house in multiple occupation (HMO).

The man was prosecuted by Herefordshire Council under the 2004 Housing Act.  The property was inspected under warrant and 14 persons of Eastern European Extraction were found to be living at the property.    The property would legally have been able to house about 4 residents. 

A licence application was sent to the Landlord in July, but no reply was received prior to the November raid in 2009.

The man was found guilty and fined (March 2011).  This is the second case about  HMO’s in Herefordshire. Countrywide there are a number of other Housing Authorities who are now taking a more direct formal recourse to action for Landlords non compliant behaviour.

The Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation was considered in an earlier article here: 
The Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation

Latest Government Policy on HMO’s can be found in an earlier article here:
New Regulations for HMO Landlords

1st April 2011