Rogue HMO landlord handed £17k fine

Dennis Alfred Goodwin of Ronalds Road, Highbury, London, was taken to court by the City of Lincoln Council where he was found guilty of a number of Management Regulation offences, including operating an unlicensed HMO at 9 Portland Street.

The property, which failed to comply with a number of safety regulations, which was deemed dangerous by a district judge.

Goodwin pleaded guilty to eight offences.

On August 13, a court heard how the smoke seals on the fire door from the kitchen into the rear entrance lobby and the ground floor front bedroom number 1 had been covered in paint which would prevent the seals from functioning in stopping the spread of smoke and fire.

A report released by the council detailed further breaches of safety regulations:

“The doors to the first floor bedrooms numbered 2 through 5 and the door from the living room to the hallway were not fire doors.

“None of the three fire extinguishers in the property had been serviced since 16 February 2016, when this should be done annually.

“This was also a cause for concern due to a fire at an adjacent property, also owned by Goodwin, which saw the fire brigade attend.

“On inspection, the curtain rail over the exit door from the rear entrance lobby between bedroom number six and the kitchen was broken so that the curtain obstructed the exit door.

“A judge also heard how a window was broken in a room of the house, which was occupied by a couple with a one year old who was particularly vulnerable to this hazard.”

Goodwin was fined £17,000.

He was also ordered to pay a Victim Surcharge of £170, plus costs of £3,000.

In total, his offences cost him £20,170.

The judge said that the tenants were living in ‘grotty’ rooms, that they were sharing a bathroom and a kitchen and the conditions were “totally unacceptable”.

He added that Goodwin’s culpability for the offences was high because he knew of all the problems and “people could have died”.