A landlord has been prosecuted and ordered to pay a £12,000 fine as well as over £12,000 in court costs after he was found guilty of not licensing three flats in the same block.
Elston Tuitt, 62, of London N16, was hit with the full costs of the prosecution after invoking a legal procedure against Waltham Forest Council and arguing that as the flats were in the same block, he needed only one licence.
He was prosecuted by the authority for refusing to obtain licences for the three rented flats.
Since March 2015 the council has operated a Private Rented Property Licensing (PRPL) scheme, which means private landlords must have a licence in place for each individual property that they rent out in the borough, unless an exemption applies. Landlords who refuse to license their properties face prosecution.
The council is actively enforcing the scheme and is carrying out a programme of ‘action days’ across the borough to improve conditions and identify properties that may require a licence.
The three flats being rented out by Tuitt were identified by officers during an action day in January 2016, and a court summons was subsequently issued for failure to license.
However, Tuitt entered an ‘abuse of process’ application against the council’s decision to prosecute, which was rejected.
The case was then heard at Thames Magistrates Court this month, where Tuitt’s counsel argued that each flat should not have to be licensed separately, and only one licence should be required for the whole building.
The Judge dismissed this argument, supporting the council’s requirement for all individual properties to be licensed.
The Judge ordered Tuitt to pay a fine of £12,000 (£4,000 per offence) and full prosecution costs including the abuse of process application, totalling £12,652, plus a £120 victim surcharge. This brought the full financial penalty to £24,772.
Cllr Khevyn Limbajee, cabinet member for jousing said: “We are pleased that the Judge ruled in our favour and agreed that rented properties should be licensed separately. The majority of responsible landlords in the borough have responded well to the scheme, and we will continue to take action against anyone who thinks they can avoid obtaining a licence for their property.”
“The use of licensing is helping us to drive up standards in the private rented sector and reduce anti-social behaviour across the borough.”
Waltham Forest Council has issued over 19,300 licences to landlords since the launch of the PRPL scheme. Since February 2016 over 40 landlords have been prosecuted for failing to licence their rented property, or for breaching licence conditions.
The council is in Labour MP Stella Creasy’s constituency. She has been consistently outspoken on housing issues.
I am sure the borough is growing wealthier by the week!
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Curious as to what was wrong with the flats? Were they over occupied or dangerous or bad properties or complaints or anything apart from not having a licence from the council which many would view as unecessary, an abuse in its self and a money grabbing opportunity?
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Licensing should only cover the cost of registration. Licensing does not improve property standards, it is revenue for councils. The whole basis for licencing is to remove the licence from defaulting landlords and prevent them from being a landlord. There is more than enough other legislation covering letting operations and property conditions. Many councils are abusing the system with fees over £500 per property. Yet one council is only charging landlords £33.50 all in for as many properties as they own, as they put it “we are only charging landlords to go on the register”.
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He gets a bigger fine for not licensing the flats than people who rent out overcrowded, unfit accommodation. Not saying he is right but there seems to be a large element of profiteering.
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A lot of MP’s are outspoken on Housing. There are also a lot that are ignorant on the subject of housing yet speak out. Indeed you don’t need any qualification to be an MP other than an inflated ego.
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