A Glasgow landlord has been warned after renting out a flat to students despite his HMO licence having lapsed.
Carl Milton was granted a restricted one-year licence by the city's licensing committee, but he was handed a severe warning over his future management after he continued to let a Windsor Street property to four tenants.
Landlords who rent their property to three or more unrelated people must get a house in multiple occupation (HMO) licence.
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However, Mr Milton’s licence had expired during the pandemic. His father said covid restrictions had delayed efforts to renew the licence.
After an inspection in July last year, the landlord was asked to provide an electrical installation certificate and told the house must not be used as a HMO until a new licence had been granted.
Mr Milton’s father appeared before the licensing committee on his son’s behalf and said: "You couldn’t speak to anyone in HMO [unit] because they were all working at home due to covid.
“I don’t understand why I am here, it seems ludicrous, it’s obvious that the HMO licence has not been renewed because of the restrictions in place at the time.”
Cllr Alex Wilson, who chairs the licensing committee, said: “We are in the process of making sure people’s lives are not at risk.
“If you want a property to be registered as a HMO in Glasgow, you adhere to the rules.”
He asked why the landlord hadn’t taken steps to remove tenants from the property when the licence expired.
Mr Milton said: “I thought it was callous to throw students onto the street during the lockdown. They can’t go to a hotel, they can’t travel to their home.”
He added safety has "always been paramount". "It’s not something we have been reneging on or trying to avoid."
Cllr Wilson asked: “What steps did you take after lockdown ended to remove the four people from that property or at least reduce it?”
The landlord’s father said his son had contacted HMO staff to renew the licence. “This has taken a long period of time, not through us not making attempts to renew the licence,” he said. “It has taken a long time to go through the process from the HMO perspective.”
A council official said: “Once a new application was made, it was stated to the applicant that it should not be being used.”
He added it “may have been difficult” depending “on the nature of the tenancy agreement” but: “Were there to be a natural break in the tenancy, it should not be re-let.”
Mr Milton said one tenant had changed during the period. He admitted the students had been paying full rent but said he had been “paying for their gas and electricity bills” during the pandemic.
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