Amrik Singh Gill, a landlord based in Birmingham’s Handsworth Wood area, has been fined almost £20,000 by Birmingham Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to illegally letting rooms in a property he owned.
When officers from the council inspected the property, they discovered that the landlord had failed to maintain any of the fire alarms and that no notices to indicate fire escape routes were displayed.
He had also failed to ensure that the water supply and drainage systems were working correctly.
Mr Gill did not obtain a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licence for the property before letting out rooms to tenants, which resulted in him being served with a £3,000 fine.
He was also fined £8,000 for numerous breaches of HMO Management Regulations, in addition to costs of £8,298.57, and a victim surcharge of £120.
Councillor John Cotton, Birmingham City Council’s cabinet member for Neighbourhood Management and Homes, said: “A tenant living in bedsit accommodation such as this property is almost 17 times more likely to be killed in a fire than an adult living in a similar single-occupancy house.
“It is because of these shocking statistics that HMO licensing exists and officers carry out checks to ensure the safety of tenants.
“Mr Gill not only provided his tenants with what can only be described as shoddy accommodation, he also put his tenants’ lives at risk and I welcome the fine imposed by Birmingham Magistrates’ Court.”
Since April 2006, a licence has been a legal requirement for any landlord if they are letting out a large HMO like the one in the aforementioned case.
A large HMO is defined as such if the property is three storeys tall or higher, occupied by five or more tenants from more than one household (family), and if toilet, bathroom or kitchen facilities are shared.