Mr Ramiz Kafai, the landlord of a property in Bristol, was forced to pay nearly £10,000 to his tenants after a First Tier Property Tribunal confirmed that he was managing an HMO which was not licensed under the Housing Act 2004.
It was not until June 2022 that the tenants were made aware of the issue of the requirement to license an HMO.
This was because they had a visit from representatives of Bristol City Council.
It was however only on 15th March 2023 that Mr Jason O’Neill-Blake, private housing case worker at Bristol City Council, informed Chris Down — one of the tenants — of the possibility of applying for rent repayment order.
The four tenants of the property presented the tenancy agreement and gave oral testimony as evidence against the landlord, who did not appear for the hearing.
In accordance with section 44 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016, the tribunal made a rent repayment order in favour of the tenants in the sum of £9,600.
