A one-time promoter of The Rolling Stones was so busy on the road that he forgot to get an HMO licence – and has now been obliged to repay tenants some £11,700 in rent.

Robert Hallet, who has worked with other A-list musicians including Justin Bieber, told a First Tier Property Tribunal that he was initially unaware of the need for a licence in 2019, and had not been informed of the need by his managing agent. 

Specifically, the Tribunal was told that Hallet was not a professional landlord, had a busy international career as a music promoter travelling extensively without using a permanent base, and in any case had for 15 years employed the NorthWest6 agency in Kilburn, London, to look after the property in question.

Hallet told the Tribunal that he worked with well-known bands and was, in his own words, “a global touring expert.” 

In 2019, when the absence of a licence came to light, he had been on the road for two and a half months straight with 22 stage shows, and did not return to the UK until September of that year. He was unaware that the property had been “turned into an HMO” having previously let the premises to non-sharers.

But three of his tenants contacted Brent council in March 2020 about their landlord’s alleged failure to repair a shower and also reported that the house was unlicensed.

Hallet says he applied for a licence as soon as he was made aware of its need but the Tribunal this month found that his relationship with the managing agency was patchy and that Hallet himself had assumed day to day management of the property at the time the property was unlicensed.

It made a Rent Repayment Order totalling £11,712 with £300 costs.

You can see details of the whole case here.