Two landlords have been served with civil penalty notices for operating unlicensed HMOs. 

The notices were from Wellingborough council; one was for £6,000 and the other for £8,250.

Details of the individuals and properties cannot be disclosed as the penalties are civil sanctions, not criminal, however the council confirms that both landlords were operating licensable HMOs without a licence. 

Officers from the council’s Private Sector Housing team investigated and found sufficient evidence to pursue action against both landlords. 

Civil penalties of up to £30,000 may be imposed by the local authority for certain housing offences including not licensing a licensable HMO, failure to comply with an improvement or overcrowding notice and failure to comply with HMO management regulations. 

Any income the council receives from civil penalties can only be used to reinvest in that council’s private sector housing service. 

A council spokesman says: “This is an excellent result…council officers usually try to educate and work with landlords to secure compliance informally, but, this should send a strong message to landlords that should they fail to act on officers’ advice or fail to comply with statutory obligations, officers will not hesitate to use the wide range of legal tools available to them.”