HMO Licensing Penalties
Dear Oxford City Council,
I would like to request the following statistical information regarding HMO Licensing in Oxford in the past 5 years:
1. The number of properties, and the average fine for properties where an HMO license was avoided until found by Council investigation.
2. The number of properties where a landlord/agency have been summoned to court for failure to obtain an HMO license where required or failing to pay HMO licence fees, and the average fine per case.
3. The number of properties currently being monitored by the council where an HMO license is required but not present, or where an investigation is ongoing.
4. The total number of HMO properties within Oxford City Council's area.
5. The total income received by the Council from HMO Licensing, including and excluding penalties.
If this information is not available for the past 5 years, may I request the maximum period of time this information is available for.
Yours faithfully,
[Name Removed]
Good afternoon
Thank you for your email below. Your request was received on 3^rd
February 2014 and you will receive a response within 20 working days, as
required under the Freedom of Information Act.
Yours faithfully
Celia Robinson
Interim PA
On behalf of Mike Newman
Corporate Secretariat Manager
Oxford City Council
St.Aldate’s Chambers, 109-113, St.Aldate’s
OXFORD
OX1 1DS
Dear Oxford City Council,
It has now been over 20 working days since you acknowledged the receipt of my FOI request regarding HMO Licensing Penalties. I urge you to reply as soon as possible, as required by law. At a minimum, I require an update on your progress of obtaining the information I have requested.
Yours faithfully,
[Name Removed]
Dear [Name Removed]
I refer to the acknowledgement below. I can now reply to your FOI request
of 3^rd February 2014. I apologise for the slight delay. My response is
as follows :
1) The Council is only able to provide the information that relates to
cases that it has proceeded through enforcement action. There were 38
cases (19 were Formal Cautions, two had 12-month conditional discharges,
two remain to be heard in Court and the remainder had fines totalling
£12,100, which equates to an average fine of £807 per defendant. There
will be a considerable number of cases where an unlicensed HMO has been
found and which the owner has subsequently licensed within a reasonable
period of time. However, these cases are not recorded separately.
2) See 1 above
3) The Council does not monitor any properties to see if a licence is
required. However, it will follow up on information provided by members
of the public, which suggests that the property might be an HMO.
Currently,180 properties are being investigated by the HMO team to see if
they require licences. The figure varies from month to month and is
dependent upon the number of reports received.
4) 5,000 approximately
5) £1,717,500 in total for the last five years, excluding penalties
Yours sincerely
Michael Newman
Corporate Secretariat Manager
Oxford City Council
St Aldate’s Chambers
109-113 St Aldate’s
Oxford OX1 1DS
From: ROBINSON Celia On Behalf Of [Oxford City Council request email]
Sent: 03 February 2014 12:36
To: '[Name Removed]'
Subject: FOI 3903
Good afternoon
Thank you for your email below. Your request was received on 3^rd
February 2014 and you will receive a response within 20 working days, as
required under the Freedom of Information Act.
Yours faithfully
Celia Robinson
Interim PA
On behalf of Mike Newman
Corporate Secretariat Manager
Oxford City Council
St.Aldate’s Chambers, 109-113, St.Aldate’s
OXFORD
OX1 1DS
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Sam left an annotation ()
In case of subletting, who is liable for getting the HMO?
Is it landlord or Occupier?
Thanks
Sam