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1st Landlord Licensing prosecution brought
THE 1st prosecution against a landlord who has refused to
sign up to Liverpool’s Landlord Licensing scheme has been brought. Brendan
Vance, of The Orchard in Huyton, pleaded guilty at Liverpool Magistrates Court,
on Thursday, 20 October 2016, to failing to commit to the scheme under Part 3 of
the Housing Act 2004. He had ignored numerous letters from the City Council
about his property, located on Onslow Road, in L6. He was fined £1,500, reduced
to £1,000 due to his guilty plea, ordered to pay the Council’s legal costs of
£734.56 and a victim surcharge of £100. Liverpool’s Landlord Licensing Scheme
came into force in 2015, with the aim of driving up standards in the private
rented sector, and action is now being taken against those who are still
refusing to sign up. Landlords have to meet a variety of conditions around fire,
electric and gas safety rectifying disrepair issues, tackling pest infestations,
keeping the exterior in a good state of repair and dealing with complaints about
anti social behaviour caused by tenants. Deputy Mayor, Councillor Ann
O’Byrne, said:- “We have given landlords ample time to sign up to the
scheme and we are now taking action against those who are ignoring the law. We
are serious and determined about improving housing and housing management
standards in the City, and the vast majority of the landlords in the City are
complying. Unfortunately, we have some who have refused to engage with us and
think they are above complying with the scheme. The level of this fine shows
that the Courts take this issue extremely seriously and are willing to hit
landlords hard, in the pocket. Mr Vance is facing a bill of more than £1,800
instead of the £400 it would’ve cost him for a licence! This is just the 1st of
dozens of cases that we are bringing to Court, and our message to landlords is
that if you don’t engage with us you will face a big bill, in Court.”
Almost 8,000 landlords responsible for more than 44,000 properties are already
engaged with the Landlord Licensing scheme. Current and prospective tenants can
access a database at:-
Liverpool.Gov.UK/LandlordLicensing to see if their landlord is on
the database.
Did you know that:- Landlord Licensing has the backing of
campaign groups including:- Shelter and Generation Rent? |
