The owner of a house in Kensington, converted to bed-sits has been fined fro operating the premises without a licence.
Christopher Michaelides , aged 68, The Avenue, Wanstead London pleaded guilty to operating a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) without a licence in a prosecution bought by Liverpool City Council.
He was fined £1,000 and costs of £2,050 were awarded to the council
The director of the house’s managing company, Rental Gateway Ltd, Lawrence Evans , aged 33, of Prescot Road Liverpool, was found guilty in his absence and fined £600 on each of four counts and ordered to pay £1,530 costs.
The court heard that, following a complaint about rats, officers from Liverpool City Council’s HMO Team had visited 37 Kensington. They gained access and found that it was a four storey building with eight occupied bed-sits sharing a communal kitchen. Records showed that no application for a licence for the property had been received. and a land registry searched showed the owner was Christopher Michaelides.
On inspection the officers found a number of breaches of management regulations including damaged fire doors which made them ineffective and damp to the wall and ceiling of the first floor landing.
In his defence Mr Michaelides said that he had left the management of the property in the hands of his managing agent and did not know that the property required a licence.
Councillor Ann O’Byrne, cabinet member for housing, said: “It is important that landlords are aware that even if they appoint a managing agent they are still responsible for ensuring that any property they have is safe and complies with the law.
“Liverpool City Council operates a Citywide Landlord Accreditation Safety Scheme (CLASS) and landlords seeking accredited Managing Agents can visit the City Council website for a list”