A North West landlord has been hit with a £55,000 fine following an inspection of his HMO properties.
Council inspectors suspected the properties were overcrowded and used the powers of a warrant to inspect the houses in Eccles, Manchester. They discovered that the home did not have the correct fire alarm system for an HMO property, lacked fire doors and the cellar didn’t offer the required protection in the event of a fire.
Inspectors also established that an adjoining property was overcrowded and lacked sufficient fire safety measures. The offences included:
>An incorrect fire alarm system in one property
>A fire alarm system that was not working in another property
>Escape routes did not have fire doors
Mike Pearson, our MD, lists some consideration for landlords here.
The owner of the properties, in Cromwell Road, was fined in excess of £55,000 by a Manchester Property Tribunal. As well as the multiple breaches of regulations, one of the sites was not licensed as an HMO. Salford introduced selective licensing to stop bad landlords from operating and to improve standards for tenants. The Mayor of the city, Paul Dennett, praised the proactive work from housing officers that allowed action to be taken.
The case has been widely reported by the local media including the Manchester Evening News. The inspection officers had been visiting one property, when they noticed a large volume of people coming and going from next door. Neighbours confirmed that eleven people were living there so officers used powers to enter and inspect.
The gas and electricity supplies had also been tampered with, were found to be unsafe and had to be disconnected.