A landlord has been fined a total of £7,298 for operating an unlicensed house in multiple occupation (HMO) in Oxford that was home to three people with disabilities.
William Stephen Rielly was prosecuted after environmental health officers from Oxford City Council investigated a house that he owned at Nowell Road in September 2016.
They discovered three unrelated tenants all of whom were people with disabilities and living in a high-risk unlicensed HMO.
Furthermore, the house had no smoke alarms or kitchen fire door and there were seven other defects identified.
Oxford City Council made a claim to the First-tier Tribunal Property Chamber (Residential Property) to recover housing benefit money Mr Rielly had received while managing the HMO on behalf of the tenants.
On 11 September 2017 Rielly was ordered by that tribunal to pay back £5,798 of housing benefit to the council.
Rielly previously pleaded guilty to managing an unlicensed HMO and failing in his duty to comply with two fire safety measures in April 2017. He received fines totalling £1,500 and was ordered to pay council costs of £1,000.
