Joel Hopkins, who let out the property in Walthamstow, East London has been ordered by the First Tier Tribunal Property Chamber to pay more than £18,000 in rent repayment to three former tenants.
The property did not have an HMO licence during the tenancy, even though one was required. The Tribunal established that Churchill Lettings ‒ which was managing the property on behalf of Hopkins ‒ was well aware that a licence would be needed for the property, having asked the tenants to cover the cost, a move which the Tribunal described as “very unorthodox and questionable”.
Hopkins had put forward a host of excuses for not obtaining the licence, including doubts over whether it would be granted as planning permission was required and he was unwilling to “throw good money after bad”.
The property was also found to be lacking a host of safety features ‒ none of the rooms had fire doors, there were not smoke detectors in every room, no fire blanket in the kitchen and a carbon monoxide alarm which didn’t work.
The Tribunal criticised both Hopkins and Churchill, noting that they were “not impressed” by the agent’s evidence, which “demonstrated a lack of understanding of basic housing law”.
It added that Hopkins was “plainly a professional landlord as evidenced by the fact that he obtained licences for other properties” which suggested he should have known that he was in breach of the rules.
In light of the “serious and deliberate breach” in this case, Hopkins has been ordered to pay £18,158.67 to the tenants within 14 days. The Tribunal noted that even though Hopkins had not previous convictions or complaints from the local authority “the breach was sufficiently serious to warrant the full award”.
