Birmingham City Council has obtained its first Rent Repayment order against a private landlord, recouping £7,500 of housing benefit rents collected, after he failed to secure a Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licence.
The Residential Property Tribunal’s ruling is the first ruling of its kind in the West Midlands for a Rent Repayment order.
Kamaljit Singh Sanghera, of Lower Severn Street, Birmingham, admitted to having no HMO licence for his property at 15 Sandon Road, Edgbaston, in November 2009. Since then, he has obtained a HMO licence for his property, which houses seven tenants.
The Residential Property Tribunal ruled that housing benefit from tenants’ rents collected by Sanghera whilst his property was unlicensed should be paid back to the council. Sanghera paid back the full amount within days of the ruling.
The case was brought to tribunal following a joint effort of council officers from Housing, Housing Benefits and Legal departments, who spent months collecting information about Sanghera before using a provision in the Housing Act 2004 to take action.
Since April 2006, there has been a requirement placed on landlords to licence houses of three storeys or more, occupied by five or more tenants, without a family connection and share amenities such as a bathroom or kitchen.
The purpose of the licence ensures that management standards and housing conditions in the private rented sector are maintained and includes requirements for basic safety including gas and electrical standards and means of escape from fire.
Where an owner has failed to obtain a licence the council can make an application to the Residential Property Tribunal for a rent repayment order, requiring the landlord to repay up to 12 months of housing benefit rent payments made in respect of the unlicensed property. Tenants who are not on housing benefit can also make such an application.
Cabinet Member for Housing, Cllr John Lines said: “We expect our private landlords to put the safety and well being of their tenants above their commercial interests.
Fortunately most of the city’s private landlords are responsible people who care about their tenants’ safety.
“We’ve shown time and again we will not hesitate to prosecute landlords who don’t have HMO licences and fines can be up to £20,000.
“In this case, we are the first local authority in the West Midlands to secure a rent repayment order.
“We will not hesitate to recover public money paid to the landlord through housing benefit and I hope this case sends out a strong message to other landlords that the law must not be flouted, or we will take decisive action.”
