Rogue HMO landlord fined £35,000 in council enforcement

Article date: 23 September 2026

The landlord has been issued with civil penalty notices totalling £35,000 in enforcement action taken by St Helens Borough Council.

The landlord was responsible for the management of a HMO in St Helens Borough, home to five people, but did not have a licence, which is a statutory requirement.

Despite repeated attempts by the council's Housing Standards team to encourage the landlord to apply and address management issues, they failed to do so.

The council used its powers under the Housing Act 2004 to issue civil penalty notices against the landlord totalling £35,000. This included a £10,000 penalty for operating a HMO without a licence and a £25,000 penalty for breaches of HMO Management Regulations.

The council became aware of the property through investigations of licensable HMOs in the borough by the Housing Standards team. HMOs occupied by five or more people living in two or more separate households must have an HMO licence under housing legislation.

The landlord has a 28 day period to appeal against the civil penalty notices, in which case the notices will be suspended until determination by tribunal.

Councillor Sharon Roughley, Deputy Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Stronger Communities, said:

"We're pushing for tighter planning controls on the licensing of HMOs, while ensuring licensed landlords are held to account. In this case, the landlord was given every opportunity to apply for the statutory licence but failed to do so. We were left no option but to take firm enforcement action.

"We hope the result of this case demonstrates our commitment to delivering higher housing standards and protecting residents from rogue HMO landlords.

"The recent adoption of our Housing Enforcement Policy and Civil Financial Penalty Policy provides a clear framework for holding negligent landlords to account and ensuring tenants are living in safe, well-managed accommodation. Most landlords provide good-quality homes and comply with their legal responsibilities, but where standards fall short, we will not hesitate to use the full range of enforcement powers available to us."

The action reflects the council's commitment to robust enforcement in the private rented sector following the recent approval of its new Housing Enforcement Policy and Civil Financial Penalty Policy.

These policies set out how the council will investigate housing offences, protect tenants and use financial penalties to improve standards across the private rented sector to create a fair environment for responsible landlords.

This enforcement action also follows council proposals to introduce new rules that would require planning permission for the change of use of a family home to a small HMO for up to six residents.

These proposals form part of the council's commitment to support balanced, sustainable and thriving communities, while making sure that a range of housing options remains available to meet local needs.

A consultation on the proposals will launch soon.