Birmingham landlord ordered to pay nearly £4,000

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A Birmingham landlord has been ordered to pay nearly £4,000 after being found guilty of failing to apply for a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licence and of four breaches of the HMO Management Regulations.

Mohammed Yousaf, 36, of Green Road, Hall Green, was convicted in his absence after failing to attend Birmingham Magistrates’ Court today (June 23).

Yousaf was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £1,758 court costs and a £100 victim surcharge.

The charges relate to a three-storey property in Rookery Road, Selly Oak, with five bedrooms, a shared lounge, kitchen and one shared bathroom, plus an en-suite with external access.

The property was referred to Birmingham City Council by the University of Birmingham’s community warden, whose team had identified it as a potentially unlicensed HMO. As no HMO licence application had been received for the property, council officers visited the address on October 22 2015 and spoke to one of the tenants, who confirmed that five students lived there.

An inspection of the property found numerous issues, including a damaged fire door for a second floor bedroom held together with a piece of wood, no smoke detector in the ground floor living room, a tumble drier installed in the escape route, no self-closers on any of the fire doors to bedrooms and no fire blanket in the communal kitchen.

Yousaf finally applied for an HMO licence on 18 December 2015.

Landlords who are unsure of the licensing requirement should telephone 0121 303 4009 or visit http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/hmo

-ENDS-

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