A council has taken the unusual step of revoking HMO licences for landlords who allegedly allowed their student tenants to plague and ruin the life of a neighbour.
The decision by Dundee council's licensing committee revoked two HMO licences after former music executive Stephen MacDougall complained that his life was turning into a living hell by people living in two HMO flats above him.
The properties are managed by the 2RentMe letting agency.
The tenants of the HMOs were claimed to have been the subject of 40 police call-outs in the last three years and allegedly were responsible for flooding MacDougall's flat three times, causing him thousands of pounds worth of damage.
Dundee has been on the verge of taking action of this kind for some time. As long ago as December the authority heard claims from some of its councillors that there was an apparent over-provision of HMO.
MacDougall had legal representation at the council's licensing committee. His solicitor, John Muir, said that for three years he [MacDougall] has been in constant contact with the police, council and anti-social behaviour teams to try and reach a resolution. He has had to call the police 40 or 50 times with complaints. Why should they be taken away from their proper duties to maximise other people's money
2RentMe's legal representation said that whenever there was any damage it was quickly repaired and that tenants went through an extensive vetting process.
Councils across the country have been introducing licensing systems and taking increasingly hard lines on alleged anti-social behaviour by tenants. LAT will be keeping track of authorities who follow Dundee's line of revoking licences.
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Comments
Just goes to show the importance of referencing your tenants and being vigilant about your properties. Not every student is a bad tenant but surely after the second or third police phone call the landlord would take action. This is a case of a negligent landlord as well, who on earth would let this continue for three years!
This is why student accommodation makes me uneasy. Not all students are like this, but they have a reputation for a reason, and Im not really sure its worth the risk. Landlords need to take responsibility here by checking up on their tenants regularly and properly referencing them before they allow them in the property in the first place. Behaviour like this is unforgivable and just reinforces the stereotype of students as terrible tenants.