HMO above Indian restaurant was one of three targeted by council

A House in Multiple Occupation located on the third floor of a property with a restaurant at ground level was one of three lettings units targeted in a series of operations by Oxford council.

Abdul Saleem Chaudhry, 66, was prosecuted after the Council’s environmental health officers investigated the Shezan restaurant he owned in Oxford High Street in January. The visit identified three members of the restaurant staff living on the third floor in what the council calls “a high-risk unlicensed HMO with two fire-safety faults.” 

Chaudhry has pleaded guilty to managing an unlicensed HMO and two breaches of the HMO management regulations; he has been fined £4,000 and has been ordered to pay surcharges and council costs of £1,436.

Shoukat Khan, 44, was another landlord prosecuted after the council investigated the rented house he owned in the city. The property was already a licensed HMO, but the inspection identified that nine conditions of his licence relating to fire safety and safety certificates had not been complied with. 

At court Khan pleaded guilty to failing to comply with these HMO licence conditions. He received a fine of £2,000 and was ordered to pay surcharges and council costs of £1,375.

A third landlord, Deborah Humes, 57, owas prosecuted after a council officer visited the rented house she owned in March. 

That visit identified three unrelated tenants in the house, which also lacked two working smoke alarms or a fire door to the kitchen. Humes pleaded guilty by letter to managing an unlicensed HMO and two breaches of the HMO management regulations. She received fines totalling £5,000 and was ordered to pay surcharges and council costs of £1,238.