Apr

Huge landlord fine halved after agent blames Covid for management mistakes

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A landlord father and son who neglected to licence an HMO have had a £24,000 fine reduced by half after their managing agent took the blame.

Jason Raja Sivam and Ponniah Sivam were taken to court by four tenants who lived in the house in Kingsleigh Close (pictured), Brentford, between July 2018 and July 2021.

Their HMO needed a licence from August 2020 when the London borough of Hounslow introduced its additional licensing scheme.

Under rent repayment order (RRO) rules, managing agent Sutherland Estates cannot be held liable, but the firm readily accepted it had failed in its responsibility to ensure the property was licensed, admitting it was unaware of the scheme.

Furloughed

Shehnaz Khan, from Sutherland Estates, told a First Tier Property Tribunal that when the first Covid-19 lockdown was imposed, staff were furloughed and its priorities were to ensure urgent repairs were arranged and that tenants were able to pay their rents.

The family business in West Ealing also helped tenants apply for universal credit.

The judge said the two landlords had played no part in the proceedings, which did not commend them to the tribunal.

“They have apparently adopted the attitude that they had appointed the firm to manage the property and that the current application had nothing to do with them,” he said.

“There has been no acceptance on their behalf of their responsibility to ensure that their property is licenced. Ignorance of the law is no excuse.”

However, despite this, because they had arranged for Sutherland Estates to manage the property, the judge decided to make a substantial reduction in the RRO, which meant they were only fined £12,342, along with £300 costs.

Read the decision in full.

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