Landlord Jailed And Fined £100,000 For Endangering Tenants’ Lives

A Grimsby Landlord has been slapped with a custodial sentence and a £100,000 fine for seriously endangering his tenants’ lives.

The Judge Peter Kelston QC was damning when he told the landlord that he was “wholly money-orientated” by “cutting corners” and that he put his tenant’s lives at serious risk when the fire alarms failed to go off in the property, which could have resulted in fatalities.

The HMO property was engulfed by flames two years ago which was caused by a dropped cigarette butt and the tenants had to run for their lives.

The landlord admitted that he had not carried out a ‘fit for purpose’ fire risk assessment, he also pleaded guilty in not installing general fire precautions as the property did not contain correctly working fire detectors.

The landlord received a five month sentence as well as a £100,000 fine and ordered to pay the tenants compensation of £4,200. This is not the first time that the landlord has received a custodial sentence and the resultant fine must be paid within 18 months which may mean that he will have to sell some of his properties.

At Grimsby Crown Court Judge Peter Kelson QC, said: “This case demonstrates how quickly fire spreads and how dangerous it is.

“Whatever he did do was woefully inadequate and a failure to appreciate sufficiently the fire risks.

“You put your wealth before your tenants' welfare. You did not carry out fire assessments.

“You never took advice from a fire safety expert. You put wealth before welfare.

“You were corner-cutting, just as you were with electrical work.

“It's only by the actions of residents that they all got out alive. It's a matter of sheer good fortune.”

The judge concluded by saying: “You are a man consumed by putting your own finances before the safety of your tenants.

"You were trying to protect your profits. I can't believe a word you say about your finances.

"You are a landlord who is more concerned with your wealth than your tenants' welfare. You're putting profit before safety.

"You have deliberately cut corners to increase your profits. Nothing is ever straightforward with you."

Council To Tax Landlords Who Rent To Students

At present student accommodation is exempt from business rates and the tenants do not have to pay council tax, however Liverpool City Council is seeing this as an opportunity to increase its funds.

The council is looking at making buy-to-let landlords that rent their properties out to students, to start acting as bona-fide ‘profit-making businesses’ and to contribute taxes for public services that their tenants use. This is a 'puffed up' way of clarifying its intent to make private student landlords to start paying business rates for their properties.

Unsurprisingly at the local authority meeting that was held recently, the members were all in favour of the plan proposed by councillors Laura Robertson-Collins and Nick Small.

According to the council they are having to consider the plan as the government is starting to phase out the grant given to authorities for loss of council tax, as students are exempt from having to pay this. So Liverpool City Council is hoping to raise funds from other sources and of course private landlords are being targeted.

Any private landlord renting out a property to four to six students could be having to face large bills for business rates, which tenants may end up paying.

An industry spokesperson comments: “This sets a very dangerous precedent. Where one council goes others are sure to follow.

“Landlords will look to recoup this extra tax by increasing their rents and taxing them in this way will reduce the amount of money they have to spend on repairs and home improvements for their tenants.

“This is yet another example of landlords being treated as little more than cash cows by those in power. I hope the Government will share our concerns and put a stop to this unfair tax on students who are already paying through the nose for their education.”

The council has been slammed by the Liverpool Guild of Students, which strongly opposes the plans, for raising the motion whilst students were still away on their summer breaks.

A Guild representative spoke to the Liverpool Echo and said: “The motion has been tabled at a time when there are no students in the city to dispute the proposals, suggesting there is an attempt to do this behind closed doors.

“While the motion implies the extra charges will be picked up by landlords, we believe they will ultimately be passed onto the students in the form of a rent increase – and at a time when maintenance grants have been cut and fees and the cost of living is going up. It is the poorest students who will suffer as a result.

“This may also lead to landlords reducing their repairs budget to make up the shortfall, which could then lead to poorer student accommodation.”

Liverpool City Council has just announced plans that they will be starting consultations with a working group comprising of representatives from universities, landlords and students; however the feeling is that it is very unlikely that the plans will be significantly altered in the group's favour.

Tenancy Rules Are Broken By One In Seven Tenants

Tenancy agreements are being broken by one in seven renters breaching one or more rules according to a major landlord insurance company. From its research it also claims that 11% of tenants were unaware of whether they had in fact broken any of the agreed rules.

 

The most common breach is paying the rent on time, whilst keeping pets and smoking are also high on the list of offences. Landlords will slap the offending tenants with various measures, the most common being (52%) taking a sum of money from or sometimes all of the tenancy deposit.

Other measures taken by landlords are making tenants pay for any damage to the property or contents (22%), however only 4% were evicted.

21% of tenants admitted that that their landlord was unaware of any infringements..

Nick Breton, of the insurance company said: “The relationship a tenant has with their landlord can be crucial in the smooth running of a rented property. It is therefore of utmost importance for tenants to keep in touch with their landlords should anything arise that may be in breach of their rental agreement.

“Many landlords may be accommodating of requests to have a pet or to make changes to the property, but it is always safest to ask before doing anything to ensure that you are not breaking your contract in the process. Tenants who break the rules of their contract can face anything from the loss of their deposit to eviction, so for peace of mind, landlords should ensure they have a watertight legal contract in place to fall back on should anything happen to their property.”

Tenants To Pay More As Lack Of Properties

It is predicted that tenants are going to face higher rental prices as there is a steep decline in the numbers of new rental properties available in the PRS (Private Rented Sector).

According to the platform's latest figures, it reveals that in August, 87.6% of the largest cities and towns have a lower number of new rental 'homes' being advertised, this is when being compared to the preceding month's totals.

The figures claims that throughout the UK there was a significant fall of 15% in numbers of new buy-to-let properties available in ninety cities and towns.

The property platform said that overall most regions experienced a drop in the supply of new rental 'homes'. The North East had the highest decline of rental listings of 36.5% in August when compared with July.

Canterbury was amongst eleven towns and cities also suffered a fall of new rental homes being available by 30.4% less, Wakefield 28.5%, Loughborough 28.3%, Colchester 26.5% and Cardiff 25.9%.

The capital had a 16.4% drop of new rental 'homes' on the market in August against July's figure, whilst Manchester experienced a fall of 18.4% and Birmingham fell by 16%.

A spokeperson said: “There’s usually a seasonal drop off in new rental properties coming onto the market over the summer. But July saw the highest numbers of buy-to-lets being advertised since the stamp duty hike in April whereas last month experienced some dramatic falls in most parts of the UK.

“Traditional landlords have had it hard of late. Alongside the stamp duty surcharge, the banks have imposed tougher lending criteria, and cuts to mortgage interest tax relief will begin to take effect next year. Profits have been hit and this could force many landlords to sell up. If September fails to pick up and there’s a shortage of available rental properties, rents could be pushed up. Hopefully for tenants, this won’t be the case.”