Judge rejects claim that ‘property guardians’ stopped house being HMO

A property firm has been fined £8,000 for operating an HMO on one of Britain’s most famous roads.

Westminster council has won an appeal regarding a fine of £8,000 against Sentry Guardians Ltd for operating an unlicensed HMO on Edgware Road.

The decision was upheld by a presiding judge who decided that the offence had indeed been committed.

The local authority’s Private Sector Housing Team had discovered the HMO following a complaint from one of the occupiers. 

Then, upon visiting the property, officers found several people occupying it as “Guardians” to protect it from damage and squatting.

Back in May 2021 the company was warned that it may need an HMO licence; then in October 2021 the property was found to be operating as an unlicensed HMO.

Consequently it was fined £8,000 for the offence of not having an HMO licence.

Sentry Guardians Ltd. appealed to the First Tier Tribunal citing that the property was not an HMO and even if it was, it was not the person having control of the property.

Both arguments were dismissed by the tribunal which decided to reject the appeal upholding the council fine. The property is now licensed.

A council spokesperson says: “The decision to uphold the fine acts as a clear message: failure to licence properties under the HMO licensing schemes will not be tolerated.

“Eighteen hundred landlords successfully licensed their properties in the past year so there is absolutely no excuse for other landlords not to come forward."