Ipswich landlord and company director to pay more than £17,000 for House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) offences

Published11th August 2021

Both a landlord and the company of which he is the director have been convicted and ordered to pay more than £17,000 in fines and legal costs following a trial at Ipswich Magistrates Court on 10 August 2021. 

Francis Investments (East Anglia) Limited - whose registered office is in St Helens Street, Ipswich - together with the company’s sole director - Mr Ralph Bernard of Valley View Drive, Ipswich and who is the owner of the property in Starfield Close, Ipswich - were both convicted of a range of offences relating to the management of the house.

The prosecution was a result of an investigation by Environmental Health Officers from Ipswich Borough Council’s Private Sector Housing team. It was established that the property was a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) that should have been licensed under the Housing Act 2004; that the property had insufficient fire safety precautions in place as the alarm system was completely inadequate and that there also were not any fire doors anywhere in the property. 

The investigation also revealed several items of disrepair:

  • Poorly installed electric light to the bathroom
  • Missing baluster to the staircase
  • Kitchen floor covering in poor condition
  • Cooker did not function correctly
  • Poorly maintained garden with a dumped mattress

Ipswich Magistrates returned guilty verdicts on all 9 charges brought under the Housing Act 2004. These included the landlord and the company failing to licence an HMO and also failing in their duties to protect residents’ health, safety and well-being at the Starfield Close address.

Says Ipswich Borough Cllr Alasdair Ross, Portfolio Holder for Community Protection,

“Ipswich Borough Council expects all private landlords to meet their legal obligations for any Houses in Multiple Occupation that they rent out. We will enforce the law against the few who try and avoid the law and we will work to ensure private tenants live in safe and well-managed accommodation.”

 

Missing baluster image credit – Ipswich Borough Council