A landlord who failed to licence a House of Multiple Occupation and breached fire safety regulations, must pay thousands in fines.  

The case against Hajra Mehmood was heard at Reading Magistrates’ Court.

Slough council first became aware of the property in 2023 and obtained a warrant to enter the property in September that year to investigate allegations it was an unlicensed HMO. 

It was found that the property was being occupied by nine unrelated people, which would require it to be licenced under the Mandatory HMO licensing scheme.   

Officers also found several breaches of the HMO management regulations. 

The property did not have a working fire alarm system, there was insufficient means of escape in the event of a fire, there was a lack of fire doors to the bedrooms or where they were present they were in a poor condition and unlikely to provide 30 mins of fire protection and there was a lack of fire proofing between floors (meaning in the event of a fire it could spread quickly). 

There was also no information displayed informing the tenants of how to contact the owner to report problems.

A bathroom was found to have been constructed in a brick shed in the garden, which the tenants were expected to use. In addition to being outside, this also had ill-fitting doors and windows that did not close properly. 

The owner of the property was formally requested to provide the council with information regarding the ownership and management of the property and the number of occupiers, which was ignored. She also ignored a formal request to provide the council with copies of tenancy agreements and other documentation relating to the letting of the property.

The offences relate to Section 72(1) of the Housing Act 2004 (letting a licensable HMO property without a licence); HMO Management Regulations 2006, regulations 3, 4 and 7 (related to fire safety, maintenance of the property and providing information to tenants); S235 of the Housing Act 20024 (failure to provide requested documents); and s16 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 (failure to provide requested information).

In court, the landlord was found guilty on the following eight counts and not guilty on one offence relating to the garden.  

• Offence 1 – Failing to licence HMO – £1,000 fine.
• Offence 2 – Failing to show name and address – £500 fine.
• Offences 3 – 6 – Management Regulations (fire safety) – £2,000 fine for each offence.
• Offence 8 – Failing to provide documents – £500 fine.
• Offence 9 – Failing to provide documents – No separate penalty. 

In total, she must pay fines of £9,000 and costs of £5,556.37 in costs.

A council spokesperson says: “Tenants deserve to live in conditions which are safe and habitable and there is no excuse for landlords to abandon their legal duties. Let this be a warning to others to check they are meeting all their obligations, and if not, take immediate action to avoid appearing in court themselves and facing huge financial penalties.”