Will the council fine me £30,000 for not having a license?

Will the council fine me £30,000 for not having a license?

9:38 AM, 25th March 2024, About 8 months ago 16

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Hello, I have received an email from Brent Council to apply for a landlord license, which I am working on now to meet the 1 April deadline. However, I remembered I haven’t heard from Ealing Council with regard to licencing a flat I am letting there.

Upon checking Ealing Council’s website, I found out that they started implementing the licensing scheme from 1 January 2023. I am letting the property through an agent and neither him nor myself have been contacted about this.

In fact, I have had no contact at all from the Ealing Council since I bought and let the property over ten years ago.

My question is: If I apply now, will they impose their £30,000 fine on me or will they accept the fact that I didn’t know about the licencing scheme?

What should I do?

Thank you,

Basel


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Reluctant Landlord

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9:51 AM, 2nd April 2024, About 8 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Paddy Murphy at 31/03/2024 - 15:33
or just send you a letter stating they believe it is and HMO and you have to prove it isn't!

In terms of SL through they only need to look at the history of their own council tax records at the property to see if the same name (landlord) crops up on occasion as paying it - identifying a potential void period. After all why would the same person pay between tenancies?

I agree we may well be taking 'long shots' here, but councils have the power, access to records AND are desperate for cash.....

Paddy Murphy

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10:07 AM, 2nd April 2024, About 8 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Reluctant Landlord at 02/04/2024 - 09:51
Absolutely they can comb any data they like. A very manual job. Even then how are they going to send the homeowner a letter as they don't have the contact details of the homeowner. The only contact details the council have is the council taxpayer. I have first hand experience when I got a CCJ against me for non paid council tax because the council couldn't find me. The tenant hadn't put their name on the bills and the bills were just sent to the house and I never got them.

Just because your property is tenanted doesn't mean it has 3 people living there who are not one family unit.

There is no onus on you to prove your home is not a HMO. How can you prove your home is not a HMO? The Council have to prove it is a HMO. Otherwise the council would send a letter to every household in their area saying prove your house is not a HMO.

Like I say their is tons of data out their, none of which can immediately identify conclusively that a property could be an unlicensed HMO. It all requires manual sifting.

Keep in mind I was unknowingly illegal for 18 months and was then licensed without a problem. How did the council not spot that one?

Reluctant Landlord

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11:19 AM, 2nd April 2024, About 8 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Paddy Murphy at 02/04/2024 - 10:07
the issue remains with a Selective licence though.

Paddy Murphy

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13:23 PM, 2nd April 2024, About 8 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Reluctant Landlord at 02/04/2024 - 11:19
Very true

It strange that the council sent the homeowner an emai given there is no register of rented properties in one Borough but in the other no email was sent.

I wonder where the funds go when they are levied. ....I guess we all know the answer.

As always the person who ultimately pay are the tenants through increased rents and less supply

GlanACC

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17:47 PM, 3rd April 2024, About 7 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Paddy Murphy at 31/03/2024 - 15:33
Just what you described, a diverse collection of data is just what the credit reference agencies are good at putting together (I know as I was a software developer for one of them). Having said that, a key part of the information is the electoral roll and a LOT of tenants who don't want to be traced (usually because they are in debt) don't register, so it is difficult to see who is living at and address - that doesn't mean they can't be linked to an address though

Paddy Murphy

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17:52 PM, 3rd April 2024, About 7 months ago

Absolutely agree...the data is there but I cannot see any local council having the resources to build software to do it. Even if they have the money they will never get the return on investment. Their best bet is informing tenants of their rights in the hope that tenants grass on their landlords

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