The owner of house in multiple occupation (HMO) was wrongly fined £31,500 by a council over alleged fire safety breaches putting tenants at risk has won a legal challenge to decrease the penalty to just £3,300.
Tan Sandhu appealed the penalties to the First-Tier Tribunal Property Chamber claiming the Coventry City Council fines were superfluous and did not follow the council’s own policy or government guidelines.
The HMO on Walsall Road was inspected as part of a campaign to improve a neighbourhood in the city.
HMO Property amenity standards, are the number and type of amenities that must be provided in all Houses of Multiple Occupation in accordance with the size and type of HMO property… read more
Compliance consultant with Landlord Licensing and Defence Ltd, who represented landlord’s rights n hearing, Phil Turtle, claimed “While we cannot condone a landlord not knowing and or failing to comply with the HMO management regulations, this case is a clear example of a council misapplying the legislation for their own purposes.
“Coventry City Council had originally tried to extract £31,499 from this landlord when in fact, as the tribunal determined, they were only entitled to fine the landlord a total of £3,300. An attempted over-charge of £28,199.”