Financial Penalties Confirmed for Unlicensed HMO Management

OUTCOME: Dismissed

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FIRST-TIER TRIBUNAL PROPERTY CHAMBER (RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY) Case reference : LON/00AP/HNA/2025/0663 Property : 35 [ADDRESS] [POSTCODE] Applicants : [redacted] (2) [COUNSEL] [NAME] of [RESPONDENT] : (1) & (2) [NAME] Respondent : [redacted] Representatives : Ms [NAME] & [NAME] of [NAME] : Financial Penalty Tribunal members : Judge [NAME] : 10 [ADDRESS] [POSTCODE] Date of hearing Date of decision : 1 December 2025 12 January 2026

DECISION

2 Decisions of the tribunal (1) The tribunal confirms the issue of a Financial Penalty Notice in the sum

of £2,500 to the first applicant. (2) The tribunal confirms the issue of a Financial Penalty Notice in the sum

of £10,000 to the [NAME] applicant. _________________________________________________ The [NAME] 1. This [NAME] concerns an appeal by the [NAME]

against the imposition of Financial Penalty Notices served by the

respondent pursuant to s.249A and Schedule 13A of the Housing Act

2004. On 27 May 2019, The London Borough of Haringey Designation

of an area for Addition Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation No

3, 2019 came in effect, and ceased to have effect on 26 May 2025. This

designation required the subject property to be licensed under this

additional licensing scheme and was in effect at the date of the alleged offence on 6 December 2025, having been extended to 16 June 2029. The background - the first applicant 2. On 11/02/2025 a Financial Penalty Notice (Final Notice) was served on

the first applicant in the sum of £2,500. As the owner of premises known

as 35 [ADDRESS] [POSTCODE] (‘the premises’) it was alleged

that:

On or about 6th December 2024, being the owner of 35

[ADDRESS] [POSTCODE] you did fail to licence a house in

multiple occupation and therefore committed an offence under

section 72(1) of the Housing Act 2004. The background – the [NAME] applicant 3. On 11/02/2025 a Financial Penalty Notice (Final Notice) was served on

the [NAME] applicant in the sum of £10,000. As the managing

agent of premises known as 35 [ADDRESS] [POSTCODE] (‘the

premises’) it was alleged that:

On or about 6th December 2024, being the manager of 35

[ADDRESS] [POSTCODE] you did fail to licence a house in

section 72(1) of the Housing Act 2004. The hearing

3 4. At the oral re-hearing of these appeals the applicants were represented

by [NAME] [NAME] [NAME] of [COMPANY] who relied on a hearing

bundle of 120 pages in addition to a Skeleton Argument on behalf of the

[NAME] applicant only. The respondent was represented by Ms

[APPELLANT] and Ms [RESPONDENT] who relied on a digital bundle of 127 pages.

Ms [NAME] written and oral evidence explained her inspection of

the subject property on 6 December 2025, her findings and the

[NAME] of the Financial Penalty Matrix in respect of both

applicants. In addition, the tribunal was provided with a witness

statement of [NAME], Team Leader dated 06/08/2025 which

stated she had also inspected the subject premises on 06/12/2025. 5. Neither applicant denied the requirement for a licence and both accepted

the requisite licence had not been obtained as at the date of the

offence i.e. 6 December 2025. The [NAME] applicant asserted that it had

applied for a licence 10 days after being notified by the respondent of the

need for an additional licence and that in any event the amount of the

financial penalty was excessive particularly as no harm had been caused

to the tenant and by reason of the [NAME] applicant’s financial

circumstances and significant works had been carried out at the subject

property. 6. In emails to the respondent the first applicant stated that he now lived

abroad, was new to being a landlord and had left everything in the hands

of his managing agent, the [NAME] applicant. 7. In written representations the [NAME] applicant asserted that a licence

was applied for on 16 January 2025 after being notified on 6 January

2025 by the respondent that an additional licence was not in place and

had been under the impression a licence was already in place before

they acquired the management of the property in February 2024.

Therefore, the [NAME] applicant’s prompt action in applying for a

licence amounted to a defence of ‘reasonable excuse.’ At the hearing

[NAME] [NAME] submitted the financial penalty should be ‘zero’ although ‘he

was happy to pay £500 to £1,000.’ 8. Neither applicant provided the tribunal with details of their respective

financial circumstances. The tribunal’s decisions 9. In reaching its decision the tribunal had regard to the relevant law which

states:

72 Offences in relation to licensing of HMOs

4

(1)[NAME] commits an offence if he is [NAME] having control

of or managing an HMO which is required to be licensed under

this Part (see section 61(1)) but is not so licensed.

(2)[NAME] commits an offence if—

(a)he is [NAME] having control of or managing an HMO which

is licensed under this Part,

(b)he knowingly permits [NAME] to occupy the house,

and

(c)the other person’s occupation results in the house being

occupied by more households or persons than is authorised by

the licence.

(3)[NAME] commits an offence if—

(a)he is a licence holder or [NAME] on whom restrictions or

obligations under a licence are imposed in accordance with

section 67(5), and

(b)he fails to comply with any condition of the licence.

(4)In proceedings against [NAME] for an offence under

subsection (1) it is a defence that, at the material time—

(a)a notification had been duly given in respect of the house

under section 62(1), or

(b)an [NAME] for a licence had been duly made in respect of

the house under section 63,

and that notification or [NAME] was still effective (see

subsection (8)).

(5)In proceedings against [NAME] for an offence under

subsection (1), (2) or (3) it is a defence that he had a reasonable

excuse—

(a)for having control of or managing the house in the

circumstances mentioned in subsection (1), or

(b)for permitting the person to occupy the house, or

(c)for failing to comply with the condition,

5

249A Financial penalties for certain housing offences

in England

(1)The local housing authority may impose a financial penalty

on [NAME] if satisfied, beyond reasonable doubt, that the

person's conduct amounts to a relevant housing offence in

respect of premises in England.

(2)In this section “relevant housing offence” means an offence

under—

(a)…

(b)section 72 (licensing of HMOs),

Schedule 13A

10(1)[NAME] to whom a final notice is given may appeal to the

First-tier Tribunal against—

(a)the decision to impose the penalty, or

(b)the amount of the penalty.

(2)If [NAME] appeals under this paragraph, the final notice is

suspended until the appeal is finally determined or withdrawn.

(3)An appeal under this paragraph—

(a)is to be a re-hearing of the local housing authority's decision,

but

(b)may be determined having regard to matters of which the

authority was unaware.

(4)On an appeal under this paragraph the First-tier Tribunal

may confirm, vary or cancel the final notice.

(5)The final notice may not be varied under sub-paragraph (4)

so as to make it impose a financial penalty of more than the local

housing authority could have imposed. The first applicant – [NAME] [APPELLANT]

6 10. The tribunal accepts the respondent’s evidence in respect of the offence

alleged and finds it has proved on the requisite standard that as of 6

December 2025 the first applicant had committed an offence pursuant

to s.72(1) of the Housing Act 2004, notwithstanding the first applicant

did not seek to deny a licence had not been obtained. The tribunal

also accepts the respondent’s evidence in respect of how it applied its

Financial Penalty Matrix and finds this has been appropriately

applied and has resulted in a financial penalty of £2,500. 11. The tribunal finds the first applicant failed to put forward any defence of

reasonable excuse as it does not accept that simply relying on a managing

agent to manage the property and collect rent on the landlord’s behalf

removes the first applicant’s responsibility to ensure the subject property

was appropriately licensed. 12. Therefore, the tribunal confirms the respondent’s decision to issue a

financial penalty in the sum of £2,500. The tribunal’s decision – [RESPONDENT] 13. The tribunal also finds the respondent has proved its case against the

[NAME] applicant on the requisite standard of proof and that the [NAME]

applicant committed an offence pursuant to s.72(1) of the Housing Act

2004 as alleged. 14. The tribunal is also satisfied the respondent correctly applied its

Financial Penalty Matrix and assigned the correct number of points to

breach of the four factors it took into consideration and the scores it

applied and did not accept the assertions put forward by the [NAME]

applicant that each category should have been scored ‘ zero.’ 15. Further, the tribunal did not accept the [NAME] applicant’s submissions

on ‘reasonable excuse.’ The tribunal finds the [NAME] applicant is an

experienced managing agent, so it should have carried out checks when

it first acquired the subject property to ensure an appropriate licence was

either in place or obtained. This is of particular relevance when the

[NAME] applicant had obtained a licence in respect of [ADDRESS]

with effect from 1 May 2020. However, it did neither of these things and

put forward no reasonable explanation as to why it had not done so. The

tribunal accepts the [NAME] applicant applied for a 5-year licence on 16

January 2025 and this was issued to [COMPANY] ([NAME]). 16. Therefore, the tribunal confirms the respondent’s decision to issue a

financial penalty in the sum of £10,000 against the [NAME] applicant.;

7 Name: Judge Tagliavini Date: 12 January 2026

Rights of appeal

By rule 36(2) of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Property Chamber) Rules 2013, the Tribunal is required to notify the parties about any right of appeal they may have. If a party wishes to appeal this decision to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), then a written [NAME] for permission must be made to the First- tier Tribunal at the Regional Office which has been dealing with the case. The [NAME] should be made on Form RP PTA available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/form-rp-pta-[NAME]-for- permission-to-appeal-a-decision-to-the-upper-tribunal-lands-chamber The [NAME] for permission to appeal must arrive at the Regional Office within 28 days after the Tribunal sends written reasons for the decision to the [NAME]. If the [NAME] is not made within the 28-day time limit, such [NAME] must include a request for an extension of time and the reason for not complying with the 28-day time limit; the Tribunal will then look at such reason(s) and decide whether to allow the [NAME] for permission to appeal to proceed, despite not being within the time limit. The [NAME] for permission to appeal must identify the decision of the Tribunal to which it relates (i.e. give the date, the property and the case number), state the grounds of appeal and state the result the party [NAME] the [NAME] is seeking. If the Tribunal refuses to grant permission to appeal, a further [NAME] for permission may be made to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber).