Council wins case against landlord in breach of HMO licence

John Avery is the owner of 95 Stafford Street in Old Town, a House of Multiple Occupation (HMO).

Last December, one of the Council’s environmental health officers inspected the property and found the occupants living in extremely poor conditions that posed serious health risks.

Fire safety measures had been ignored, escape routes were obstructed, a basement was wrongly being used as a bedroom and there were holes in the ceiling.

Mr Avery was made aware of the breaches of his HMO licence but failed to attend a number of interviews with Council officers. When he finally did attend, in June, he acknowledged that management of the property had been poor, yet he failed to supply any reasonable excuse for the conditions.

Councillor Cathy Martyn, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Public Safety, said: “This case shows our commitment to ensuring that no tenant has to live at the mercy of a landlord who does not care about their living conditions.

“In most cases, we are able to resolve problems such as this before legal action is required. However, in this case, Mr Avery proved extremely uncooperative. In the end, we had to take him to court to ensure his tenants were protected and kept safe.

“This sends out a clear and important message to private sector landlords who refuse to deal fairly with their tenants: if you breach your HMO licence, refuse to cooperate with our environmental health officers and put people at risk, there will be serious consequences which will more than likely result in a hefty fine and possibly the withdrawal of your license.”

Mr Avery attended Swindon Magistrates’ Court on Monday (17 Dec) and pleaded guilty to nine offences.

He was ordered to pay £600 for each breach, a £170 victim surcharge and £4,158 in legal costs for the investigation carried out by the Council. His HMO licence will also be reviewed by the Council.