HMO Licensing Enforcement: London Landlord Fined £19,000
In the Telegraph newspaper, there is an article on HMO landlords entitled ‘I gave up 100-hour work weeks to be an HMO landlord earning 17pc yields’. The piece should generate a lot of interest, but as specialist Landlord Solicitors, we spend a significant amount of time advising landlords on HMO enforcement and regulatory issues.
As Landlord and Tenant Solicitors based in London, we represent a diverse range of landlords, from accidental landlords renting out their homes temporarily to professional landlords with extensive buy-to-let property portfolios, including houses in multiple occupation.
All landlords risk enforcement action and fines if they do not fully comply with their UK landlord obligations, the regulations and the law. In this blog, we report on a recent £19,000 HMO licensing fine.
Contact our landlord and tenant team for specialist legal advice.
A £19,000 HMO licensing enforcement fine
In July 2025, the Evening Standard newspaper reported that a landlord in London had been fined over £19,000 for renting out a property in North London without an HMO licence.
The property in Haringey was rented out to three different households, and the unfortunate landlord had not applied for the necessary HMO licence before doing so.
The property was let out as individual rooms in August 2023, but the non-licensed HMO was not discovered by Haringey council until November 2024.
The total fine was £23,500, but it was reduced to £19,975 due to a payment discount for making the payment within 28 days of the due date.
The council reportedly based its fine on the size of the landlord’s property portfolio and the landlord’s knowledge of HMO regulation.
The full newspaper report can be read here.
Fines for unlicensed HMOs
A local authority can impose a civil penalty of up to £30,000 if a landlord fails to obtain an HMO licence for a property that falls within the definition of an HMO.
Fines can exceed £30,000 if:
- There is more than one landlord, as the law says a local authority can impose separate financial penalties on joint landlords. The fine amount for each landlord should be separately assessed, or
- The landlord is a company because the company and its director/s can be fined.
Other sanctions for landlords of unlicensed HMOs
A landlord of a property that should but does not have an HMO licence can face other sanctions, including:
- An application for a rent repayment order, and
- A banning order, and
- Criminal proceedings.
For more information on rent repayment orders, have a look at:
What is an unlicensed house in multiple occupation?
An unlicensed house in multiple occupation is any property that falls within the definition of an HMO in the borough where it is located, and the landlord does not hold the required licence.
The issue for many landlords is that there is no universal or UK-wide definition of an HMO. It is borough-dependent, which can be highly confusing, especially when a landlord owns a portfolio of HMO properties.
In addition, the legal complexities are further compounded by the fact that a local authority may change its definition of an HMO, or a property may become an HMO if additional unrelated individuals move in.
The law states that ignorance of the law is no defence, so landlords require specialist HMO legal advice on licensing requirements and their obligations as the landlord of an HMO.
To many people, HMO regulations and the potential fines may seem risky and a hassle, but HMOs can be highly profitable, and HMO tenants are entitled to the protection of the law. In the words of Haringey Council’s Deputy Leader, Sarah Williams, “Landlords who knowingly breach licensing laws will not get away with it - we’re taking firm action, and the consequences are real.”
Banning orders and HMOs
A landlord of an HMO can be made the subject of a banning order. The law states that an HMO owner can be banned from being an HMO landlord for a variety of HMO-related reasons:
- Having control of, or managing, an unlicensed house in multiple occupation, or breaching a condition of a licence.
- Having control of, or managing, an unlicensed property, or breaching a condition of a licence.
- Failure to comply with HMO management regulations.
- Failure to comply with overcrowding notices or fire safety regulations in the HMO.
Banning orders can also be made against HMO landlords and their letting agents for reasons not related to the property’s HMO status or lack of HMO license, such as:
- Unlawful eviction or landlord harassment.
- Using or threatening violence to secure entry into premises.
- Failure to comply with an improvement notice, a prohibition order or an emergency prohibition order.
- A breach of the gas safety regulations.
How the Landlord Lawyers at OTS Solicitors help landlords and letting agents
At OTS Solicitors, we understand that both landlords and their letting agents are busy people. Often, things do not get missed deliberately, but rather because a landlord or their agent has either not been aware of a licensing requirement, regulation, or another aspect of landlord law, or something has gone wrong, resulting in problems that have escalated and necessitating urgent landlord legal advice.
Whatever the reasons why a landlord needs specialist landlord legal advice, our team of Landlord Lawyers provides:
- Clear legal advice identifying what a landlord’s options are – we do not just quote regulations at you without explaining what they mean and how they apply to your circumstances.
- Commercial legal advice – we understand that landlords rent property to make a profit. That’s why our legal advice is commercially delivered. There is no point in a landlord or letting agent paying for detailed legal advice about the appeal procedure if the reality is that the cost-benefit analysis makes an appeal or a particular course of action an unrealistic option.
- Proactive – we make sure that we let you know what is going on, and if there is a delay, explain why and what can be done about it.
Our team can help you with:
- Advice on HMO licensing and regulatory compliance.
- Tenancy agreements and advice on breaches of tenancy agreements.
- Right to rent regulations and the consequences of not complying with the latest guidance.
- Landlord obligations, including property maintenance and repair.
- Tenant disputes, including disrepair claims and deposit disputes.
- Possession proceedings and when you can and cannot serve a valid Section 21 notice.
- Allegations of landlord harassment and revenge eviction.
- Rent repayment order claims and defences.
- Letter before action consultations and ADR for landlord disputes.
Contact our landlord and tenant team for specialist legal advice.
Appointments are available at our offices in central London, by phone or online consultation.
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