October 8, 2024
Landlord fined over ‘firetrap’ property
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A Surrey landlord has been ordered to pay a substantial amount in fines and costs after being taken to court by Reigate and Banstead Borough Council.
Epsom Pars Limited, who ran a 21 room House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) in the Epsom Downs area, were successfully prosecuted for multiple offences. They pleaded guilty to 48 criminal charges, including fire safety offences and various forms of disrepair.
The Court ordered the company to pay fines, costs and a Victim Surcharge totalling £31,840.
The prosecution and fine followed months of exchanges between the landlord and the Council in which officers from the Private Sector Housing team had repeatedly warned the landlord against continued non-compliance but to no avail.
The Company was notified of the works it needed to undertake and the timescales to complete them, but it ignored the warnings. Officers who visited the property described it as “cold”, “damp”, “filthy”, and a “firetrap”.
With continued noncompliance it was decided that the company be prosecuted for the offences due to their number and severity.
Cllr Rich Michalowski, Executive Member for Place, Planning and Regulatory Services said: “This case underscores the importance of landlords being held accountable to ensure tenants are living in safe, well-maintained homes. Reigate and Banstead enforcement teams, armed with legal powers, will continue to take action against those who fail to meet the legal standards, ensuring that unsafe and unfit housing has no place in our Borough.”
During sentencing, the magistrates remarked on the repeated, unacceptable non-compliance with Council notices. The Court noted that the problems identified had put tenants at risk.
Reigate and Banstead Borough Council
September 2024
