A landlord has been ordered to pay £14,500 after he was found to be illegally letting his property out to 11 EU migrant workers.
Four civil penalty notices were issued to the landlord – who has not been named but whose property was in Evesham – by Wychavon District Council for operating an HMO without a licence and for a number of management regulation breaches.
It is the first time Wychavon has used this method of enforcement since civil penalties were introduced last year and it forms part of a crackdown on landlords operating HMOs without a licence.
The move followed a raid on a three-storey property by council officers back in March.
They found a family sharing a single room, unrelated adults sharing rooms and overall the house was being used by eight adults and three children.
A number of hazards were also discovered within the property, including poor internal layout, poorly working fire alarms, no fire doors or compartmentation and the kitchen lacked a working oven. The council says it is now forcing the landlord to fix these issues which pose serious risks to people living there.
The total rent paid for the property was £810 per week in cash which amounted to around £42,000 each year received by the landlord.
A council spokesman says: “Landlords like this are taking advantage of vulnerable people who have a lack of knowledge of the legislation surrounding renting in the UK. We hope this serves as a clear warning that we are cracking down on illegal HMOs in the area and there will be severe consequences for not abiding by the law.”
