A landlord who did not hold licences for her six properties, has ended up with a criminal conviction and a hefty fine.
London Land Holdings Ltd, London Land Holdings 1 Ltd and the Sole Director of both companies, Susannah Meisner, with an address in London, were the subject of the court case heard at Reading Magistrates’ Court on 6 and 7 July.
The council had made many attempts to engage the landlords regarding Selective Licences and repairs at the properties in Greenwatt Way, Primary Road, Chalvey, but they didn’t respond.
The charges brought were under Section 95(1) of the Housing Act 2004, operating a property required to be licensed without a licence and failure to comply with a Statutory Nuisance Abatement Notice in breach of Section 80(4) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This was in relation to broken toilets in one property.
Ms Meisner attended court and gave evidence. She stated the companies were set up in order to buy the properties and she had handed over control and responsibility to her husband. She denied having any involvement with the running of the companies at all.
The following day, her husband Joel Fried gave evidence. He spoke about how he delegated everything to do with the property to another person and was under the impression the licensing was done. He confirmed another management company was now dealing with the properties.
The Magistrates returned after an hour of consideration and convicted the defendants on all offences. Full costs were awarded.
- London Land Holdings was sentenced to a fine of £3,236 and costs of £1,553.
- London Land Holdings 1 was sentenced to a fine of £5,393.75 and costs of £1,553, plus a surcharge of £108.
- Susannah Meisner was sentenced to a fine of £4,228 and costs of £1,553.
The total in fines, costs and surcharges is £17,624.75.
Councillor Puja Bedi, lead member for transport, housing, highways, the environment and environmental services, said: “This case shows the importance of being a responsible landlord. You can’t just ignore your legal responsibilities to your tenants or ignore repeated contact from the council.
“We hope other landlords learn a lesson, will be responsive to issues reported and will ensure they have all the necessary licences to operate, for the protection of themselves and their tenants.”
The council finally received licence applications from newly appointed managing agents on 27 June and will work with them to tidy up the site, make repairs and process the applications to ensure the new arrangements are adequate.