A Midlands landlord has been fined £5,000 after mistakenly ticking the wrong box on a Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licence application form. Legal experts warn that councils are increasingly using bureaucratic technicalities to impose heavy fines on landlords for minor errors, raising concerns about unlawful and unaccountable enforcement practices.

Minor error leads to significant penalty

Phil Turtle, compliance director at Landlord Licensing & Defence, highlighted a recent case where a landlord was penalised after a council refunded their licence fee on the basis that the wrong type of HMO licence application had been submitted. The landlord had inadvertently ticked the incorrect box on the form, yet this seemingly minor mistake exposed them to a substantial fine.

The issue arose because the council chose to reject the application and refund the fee without notifying the landlord, effectively removing the statutory protection granted by the Housing Act 2004 when an application is duly made. Once this protection was lost, the council promptly issued a Civil Penalty Fine for operating an unlicensed HMO.

Confusion between mandatory and additional licensing

Landlord Licensing & Defence warns that other councils are similarly rejecting HMO applications where landlords mistakenly use an ‘additional’ licensing form instead of a ‘mandatory’ one, or vice versa. Despite the different names, the physical licences and conditions required under both schemes are identical.

Mr Turtle criticised councils for refusing applications on this basis, stating: “They have no right in law to refuse an HMO licence application simply because it was the ‘wrong sort’ of HMO application, but they are unregulated, unaccountable and frankly, landlord-hating.” He compared the situation to “British Rail blaming ‘the wrong sort of snow’ on the line.”

Legal and moral concerns

Under the Housing Act 2004, there is no legal justification for a local authority to refuse or refund an HMO licence application that has been duly made, simply because the landlord misunderstood the difference between two licensing schemes or ticked the wrong box. Mr Turtle described the councils’ actions as “morally repugnant” and “unlawful.”

He added: “They are using pure bureaucracy as a weapon to generate enforcement revenue rather than to improve housing standards.” This approach risks penalising landlords unfairly and undermines trust in local authority licensing regimes.

Impact on landlords

In the case cited, the landlord chose not to challenge the fine at the First-tier Tribunal due to concerns about reputational damage from public proceedings. Mr Turtle remarked: “Effectively, a landlord was bullied into accepting the council’s unlawful action as their own guilt.”

This highlights the difficult position landlords face when contesting enforcement actions, especially when minor administrative errors can lead to significant financial penalties and reputational risk.

What this means for landlords

Landlord Licensing & Defence advises landlords to carefully check their local council’s licensing criteria before submitting HMO applications. Seeking professional representation or guidance can help avoid costly mistakes and protect landlords from unfair enforcement.

Given the complexity and inconsistency in how councils handle HMO licensing, landlords should remain vigilant and consider expert advice to navigate the application process successfully.

Source: Based on reporting from Property118

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