A council’s decision to impose financial penalties on two private landlords for offences under the Housing Act 2004 have been upheld by the Property Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal.

Crawley council imposed financial penalties totalling £2,750 on the licence holder, Nasser Butt, of two HMOs for failing to comply with the condition of his licenses relating to the number of permitted occupants.

Martin New, owner of another property in the Crawley area, was required to pay a financial penalty of £3,000 for failing to comply with an Improvement Notice that had been served regarding substandard housing conditions.

Butt was found to have let rooms in properties to more people than was permitted under his HMO licences, which led to them being over-occupied. 

Financial penalties were imposed on him for a total of £2,750 which were upheld on appeal. 

New had been served an Improvement Notice to address poor housing conditions. 

The remedial actions included replacing the existing defective gas boiler, using a proprietary solution and repainting all mould affected surfaces within the property, replacing a missing fence panel, and dismantling and safely clearing away the dilapidated back garden shed. 

Crawley council originally issued a financial penalty in the sum of £5,100 for failing to comply with the Improvement Notice. This was subsequently reduced to £3,000 upon appeal by New to the Property Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal.

A council spokesperson says: “The council expects landlords to comply with housing regulations regarding private rented accommodation and takes any failure to do so very seriously. We hope outcomes like these will deter bad practice by other private sector landlords and reassure compliant landlords of our commitment to improving the sector in Crawley.”