Rogue landlord sentenced over unlicensed HMO in Egham

Nursery assistant Jetwani, who gave her address as St Pauls Road, Egham (ie the bungalow which was converted) had previously admitted ten charges against her under the Housing Act 2004.

In summary these were that she:

*operated a licensable House of Multiple Occupation without a licence

*failed to supply a Gas Safety Report

*failed to comply with fire safety regulations

*failed to comply with a number of regulation requirements relating to the size of the rooms and access to washing facilities, etc

On 27 November, District Judge Cooper ruled that Jetwani should be fined £12,000 and ordered to pay a £2,000 victim surcharge. The fine was initially set at £18,000, but was reduced by the Judge due to Jetwani’s early guilty plea.

Anonymous tip-offs

Jetwani was prosecuted by Runnymede Borough Council after anonymous tip-offs that the bungalow was being used illegally as an unlicenced HMO.

Jetwani and her brother initially became aggressive and threatened to make complaints when Runnymede Borough Council staff tried to visit the property to find out how many people lived there. They claimed they would undress a baby to create a safeguarding issue to try to stop visits.

Council workers eventually had to apply for a warrant to enter the building. They found shoddy construction methods had been used to create 15 spaces, including four in the loft space, and three which could only be accessed by going out of the building and back in through separate doors.

When workers spoke to tenants they found evidence of up to 15 people living in the building. Interviews with tenants who were present during the inspection found they were paying between £85 and £125 per week to live in the bungalow.

Smoke alarms

Council staff found an inadequate number of smoke alarms, none of which were interlinked.

Further inspections of the property revealed that some of the rooms were as small as 3.48 m². The smallest acceptable size for rooms in an HMO property is 6.51 m².

Speaking in court as she issued the fine, District Judge Cooper said: “These people were low income, English was not their first language and they were vulnerable. I place culpability at its highest. Though the defendant may not have understood she needed a licence, she must have understood these rooms were very small and the partitioning was inadequate.”