Landlord fined £3000 after up to 20 people living in Salisbury house
Property "overcrowded and unregulated"
Last updated 20th May 2021
Wiltshire Council has successfully prosecuted a landlord in Salisbury for three offences related to running an unlicensed house in multiple cccupation (HMO).
Between March 2019 to September 2020 a mid terrace, three story property in Hawthorn Close was continually occupied by up to 20 Romanian adults and their children.
Many of the adults living there were local shift workers.
Ms Siddika Begum, also of Hawthorn Close, pleaded guilty to three offences at Swindon Magistrates Court on Friday (14th May)
- Operating an unlicensed HMO
- Falsifying information when requested by the council
- Contraventions under the HMO Management Regulations (by failing to provide gas, electrical and fire safety certification).
Ms Begum was fined over £3,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,224, plus a victim surcharge.
During the course of the investigation Ms Begum denied that the property was being used as an HMO and claimed she lived there with a couple of friends despite evidence to the contrary.
NEIGHBOURS IMPACTED
Cllr Phil Alford, Cabinet Member for Housing said,
"Because the property was overcrowded and unregulated, not only did it pose a potential health and safety risk to the occupants, the neighbours were impacted by significant levels of anti-social behaviour, large amounts of domestic waste causing rats, together with fly tipping and various motor offences including a large number of unpaid parking fines."
"The evidence required to take this case to prosecution couldn't have been achieved without the assistance of many different agencies, including Wiltshire Police and was particularly challenging given the Coronavirus situation at the time."
Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.