Kennington landlord receives criminal conviction for operating an unlicensed House in Multiple Occupation

Monday, March 17th, 2025 - Southwark Council

A landlord operating an unlicensed House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) in Hillingdon Street, Kennington has been found guilty at Croydon Magistrates’ Court and ordered to pay a total of £4,272.

Mr Justice Arifa Smart was the owner and landlord of a property in Hillingdon Street, SE17 which was inspected by Southwark Council and found to be operating as an unlicenced House in Multiple Occupation (HMO).  

Mr Smart failed to respond to requests by Southwark Council to provide information or alternatively to apply for a licence and as such, the council decided to refer the matter for prosecution.

Mr Smart was found guilty at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on 8 January 2025. He failed to attend the sentencing hearing on 20 January where he was fined a total of £1,980 for the failure to license his property, failure to produce documentation and failure to provide information relating to the occupation of the property. He was also subject to a victim surcharge of £792 and costs of £1,500.

Landlords of unlicensed properties can also be made the subject of a Rent Repayment Order if the tenants of an unlicensed property make a request to the First Tier Tribunal. This can result in the landlord being ordered to repay the tenants up to 12 months rent.

Councillor Natasha Ennin, Southwark’s Cabinet Member for Community Safety & Neighbourhoods, said: 

“Unscrupulous landlords have no place in Southwark. This case sends a clear message that we will not tolerate rogue landlords who ignore their legal responsibilities and put tenants in harms way.

“Tenants deserve to live in safe conditions and we are committed to upholding our licensing requirements.  We urge all landlords to comply with the law or face the consequences.“

Landlords unsure how to ensure compliance with local authority mandatory HMO, additional and selective licensing schemes can contact London Property Licensing for simple, impartial and expert advice (details here).

Our free guide containing more information about property licensing and HMO planning restrictions in Southwark is available here.

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