A Bristol landlord has been ordered to pay a total of £58,271 after he failed to carry out improvements to his unlicensed HMO.

Alphonsus Hardy, of Coronation Road, Bristol, was found guilty at Bristol Magistrates' Court of offences relating to his HMO, following a prosecution brought by the city council.

Hardy failed to attend the plea hearing and was convicted in his absence of failing to license the property under mandatory HMO licensing requirements, failing to comply with an improvement notice requiring works to address a serious hazard, and a number of offences relating to the management and condition of the HMO in Coronation Road.

Repairs

The improvement notice required numerous repairs to the property’s windows and doors, which had left tenants living in unacceptably cold conditions. A council investigation also identified failures in the management of the HMO, including breaches of fire safety requirements and poor maintenance of both the common areas and living accommodation, leaving it in a poor condition and state of disrepair.

The court fined Hardy £50,000, comprising £24,000 for failing to license the property, £12,000 for failing to comply with the improvement notice, and £14,000 for breaches of the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation Regulations. He was also ordered to pay the council’s prosecution costs of £6,271 and a victim surcharge of £2,000.

Councillor Barry Parsons, chair of the homes and housing delivery committee (pictured), says it’s completely unacceptable when landlords fail to meet the legal standards expected of them and put the wellbeing of their tenants at risk.

“Private landlords have clear legal responsibilities, and we will not hesitate to take enforcement action where those responsibilities are ignored,” he adds. “The serious breaches identified in this case fell well below the standards that tenants have a right to expect.”

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