A Liverpool landlord has been hit with a total bill of almost £1,300 after being found guilty at magistrates court of managing a property without a compulsory licence.
The licensing scheme for private landlords was introduced by Liverpool City Council in April 2015 with the aim of improving the private rental sector.
Mark McMillan, of Darmonds Green Avenue in Anfield, failed to appear at court. In his absence he was found guilty of failing to licence the property in accordance with the scheme and fined £800.00, plus costs of £322.00 and a victim surcharge of £170.00.
A property in Winslow Street in Everton first came to the attention of Liverpool City Council in August 2017 following a complaint regarding accumulations of waste at the rear of the property. Despite a reminder from the Council which clearly outlined the scheme, the requirement to licence the property and the consequences of failing to licence, Mr McMillan still failed to licence it.
In sentencing, District Judge Lloyd confirmed there were no mitigating factors and emphasised the importance of the Landlord Licensing scheme. District Judge Lloyd noted that the case was an excellent example of why the property needed a licence due to the accumulations on the property and it clearly was not in a good enough state.
Cllr Frank Hont, Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “We have many good private landlords in Liverpool but we take it very seriously when they do not comply with their duties.
“We will continue to work hard on behalf of those tenants who find themselves in sub-standard accommodation, taking landlords to task when they flagrantly breach the law.”
More than 41,000 homes have been licensed as part of Liverpool’s scheme but another 6,500 have been reported as unlicensed to date from intelligence from communities and stakeholders or via requests for help from tenants who are living in sub-standard accommodation.
There have now been around 80 successful prosecutions, 1,139 cautions issued and 79 formal written warnings. Another 670 cases are currently being considered for formal enforcement action.
Tenants can report issues of disrepair in private rented properties that have not been dealt with by their landlord to environmental.health@liverpool.gov.uk and check if a property has the required licence at www.liverpool.gov.uk/landlordlicensing
