A landlady has been fined £24,000 after lying to her tenants and the local authorities.
Diana Thompson was prosecuted by Brent Council and prosecuted for failure to licence a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) and failure to comply with fire safety regulations.
Thompson convinced tenants living in her unlicensed, detached two-storey HMO property that she was a lodger.
The property was raided last year following a tip-off from council tax officers that Thompson was trying to claim a single person’s discount when in fact she was living in a home that she was also letting to seven other people.
When the property was visited by council enforcement officers, Thompson lied, claiming she was a relative of the landlady and that the first floor of the property was owned by someone else.
Thompson’s fines included £15,000 for failure to licence a property, £5,000 for failing to comply with fire safety regulations, £4,678 in costs and a £170 victim surcharge.
