A landlord of a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) in Pontypridd has been fined over £1500 after they breached conditions of their HMO Licence.
Mr Daly, landlord of a property in Llantwit Road, Treforest, which is licensed as a HMO under the Council’s Additional Licensing Scheme 2019 for a maximum of 5 people living as 5 households, was found by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council to have not complied with regulations and conditions relating to his HMO licence after a number of follow up inspections.
The Council’s Environmental Health Officers attended the HMO for a routine inspection in October 2023 and set out a number of defects that required Mr Daly’s attention to ensure the habitual safety of the rented property. After an inspection dated 17th July 2024, it was found that Mr Daly had still failed to attend to the defects and did not meet the conditions under which the HMO licence was issued. This left the Council no alternative but to refer the case for court action.
Some of the defects highlighted included, failure to provide an openable window of suitable size on the ground floor for ventilation purposes, flaking paint and render to front/rear elevations and a wooden front door in poor repair, which included a gap to the bottom and missing frame.
The case was heard at Merthyr Magistrate Courts in late December 2024 and Mr Daly pleaded guilty to five issues that were highlighted. The court failed to agree that inclement weather had prevented Mr Daly from carrying out the works.
Mr Daly was fined £1000 for the defects, £150 costs and a £400 surcharge, giving a total of £1550 to be paid within 28 days.
Councillor Bob Harris, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Communities, said:
“This is yet another example of our Environmental Health team helping to protect the rights and safety of residents who rent with private landlords. The hard work of the team to uphold standards in the County Borough has led to another successful prosecution of a landlord who did not meet the required standard of accommodation we expect for tenants. It should be seen as a strong warning to landlords all over the County Borough that they must comply with the rules or face the consequences.
“Landlords have a duty to proactively manage all of their properties, routinely identifying and resolving problems as they arise and Mr Daly flagrantly ignored a multitude of issues and failed after many attempts to put the matters right, which not only broke the law but could have put the safety of his tenants at risk.
“The Council is committed to creating safe and strong communities and we’ll always take action against rogue landlords who flout the rules.”
