Manchester landlord fined £15k after HMO licensing breach

A Manchester landlord has been ordered to pay more than £15,000 after he failed to comply with licensing regulations for houses of multiple occupation (HMO).

Charles Andrew Wenner, 62 of Rusholme, had successfully applied to Manchester City Council for an HMO licence for a property on Oxney Road - where he lived - in 2007.

However, when the licence expired in 2012 he said the property was no longer licensable as there were fewer than five occupants.

An investigation by the local authority subsequently found that eight people were living at the property.

Wenner, an opera singer who spends much of his time abroad, agreed to submit an HMO application but his paperwork remained incomplete.

At Manchester Magistrates’ Court last month he was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £1,823.75, along with a £120 victim of crime surcharge.

He had pleaded not guilty but failed to attend the hearing, which was heard in his absence.

Cllr Bev Craig, Assistant Executive Member for Housing and Regeneration at Manchester, said: “HMO licensing is in place to ensure the safety of tenants and when landlords fail in their obligation to comply, they are putting the safety of their tenants at risk.

“We welcome the court’s decision and the level of the fine is consummate with the seriousness of the offence. We urge other landlords to take heed – licence your HMO properties and keep your tenants safe.”