As yet more landlords in Swansea find themselves in court for not having the appropriate licensing for their rented properties, property investors across the UK should heed the warning that keeping their commercial affairs efficiently managed is of the most important parts of running a successful business.
It appears that the latest two landlords who have fallen foul of Swansea Magistrates have previously held licences but did not renew them. They are now just another statistic in the growing number of landlords that Swansea Council has caught out. And it seems owners of Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO) are the ones who find legislation hard to comply with.
John Hague, the Swansea Council Cabinet Member for environmental issues, said “Swansea Council has now successfully prosecuted 21 cases of landlords failing to license their HMOs since licensing was introduced in 2006, nine of those being since April 2011. We want to ensure that HMOs are of a good standard and well-managed so they provide safe and secure homes for tenants. We know that there are lots of good landlords in Swansea who manage their properties well and comply with legal requirements. We want to encourage those landlords and assure them and tenants living in HMOs that we will take appropriate legal action, including prosecution, for those who fail to comply with the law.”
It would seem a simple enough task for landlords to ensure that yearly renewal of licences and landlord insurance is carried out, especially when both are prerequisites to be authority approved, and yet it is amazing how many fail to comply. Most landlord organisations will give property investors information on how to keep their affairs up to date for very little cost, however, it is imperative that those investors are willing to spend moments of their day ensuring their business is legal and above board at all times.