The landlord identified himself simply as "a man" during a prosecution at Bristol Magistrates court brought by South Gloucestershire Council's private sector housing team.

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health says its Manifesto is aimed at raising the profile of the Environmental Health profession "among policymakers" ahead of the next general election.

The council says that it chose the civil penalty route in this case, rather than a prosecution, as the fine "will be used to help support its private sector housing team

The appeal to the Upper Tier Tribunal (UTT) was brought by Waltham Forest Council in London but it turned out that the person giving evidence as the respondent landlord wasn't who (almost) everyone thought he was.

The case marks the second time in a month that Camden Council has been successful at court in achieving fines in the multiple 10s of thousands of pounds using the mandatory HMO licensing regime.

The update is "to clarify selective licensing legislation, and requirements for applications submitted to the department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities."

The council also warned those operating private rented properties without a licence are already at risk of enforcement action since the selective licensing scheme started in September 2022.

Wolverhampton Council prosecuted the landlord under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Practices Regulations 2008.

Monsoon Properties pleaded guilty in May to breaches of the HMO management regulations 2006 and last week were ordered to pay £30,000 in fines, costs of £7,020 and a surcharge of £12,000.

The council's property licensing team inspected the landlord's property in June 2022 whilst investigating "potential breaches of housing legislation."