A trio of Cambridge landlords have been fined more than £8,000 between them, after three separate HMOs were found to be unlicensed.

An inspection of the first house was carried out after a review of council records in February this year. It found the property housing five tenants had been an unlicensed HMO since at least 2018, meaning it was potentially unsafe for the tenants living there.

In July the directors of the company owning the property were issued with a Financial Penalty Notice for the offence totalling £1,898.73.

An inspection of the second house found it was housing seven tenants and had been an unlicensed HMO since at least 2014.

Again in July the landlord was issued with a Financial Penalty Notice for the offence totalling £3,535.89.

Following a further inspection of a third property the council found it had not been licensed since October 2018. The landlord was issued with a Financial Penalty Notice for the offence totalling £2,549.65.

The necessary mandatory HMO licences have now been granted with an additional condition requiring the owners to undertake recognised landlord training within six months.

A Cambridge council statement says: “Where a landlord or property manager receives a civil penalty it can be taken into account when considering whether they are ‘fit and proper’ to be the licence holder for an HMO. In cases where a landlord or property manager receives two or more civil penalties over a 12-month period the council may include their details in the national database of rogue landlords and property agents.”

And a council spokesperson adds: “We hope that this enforcement action will set an example to the small minority of landlords in Cambridge who provide unsafe or poor quality accommodation in the city and fail to get the mandatory licences.

“We will continue to protect the health and safety of tenants in the private rental sector, and help drive up standards, by taking enforcement action when landlords fail to comply with the law.”