Newquay landlord Miss Amanda de Gonville Morrison was fined just £250 + a £15 victim surcharge in Bodmin Magistrates Court for a raft of offences in connection with her property at 3 St Mary’s Road, Newquay, which is a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO).
Miss De Gonville was convicted of 13 separate offences in total, including:
- failing to comply with the conditions of the House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licence for her property at 3 St Marys Road, Newquay
- breaches of the HMO Management Regulations
- failing to provide required documents and obstructing a Cornwall Council officer from carrying out their inspection.
She was proven to have failed to supply and maintain safety measures at the property including:
- adequate fire alarms
- fire doors
- emergency escape lighting
- other precautionary facilities.
- Additionally she could not provide certificates confirming the integrity of the electrical installation.
The maximum Miss Amanda de Gonville Morrison could have been charged for all the offences was £62,500, but the magistrates took into account:
- her financial position
- ill health
- her impending bankruptcy
- the impending repossession of the property at 3 St Mary’s Road, Newquay
Further to the above, she also failed to declare to Cornwall County Council that she already had a conviction from 16 June 2008, by Gloucester City Council, for operating a licensable HMO without a licence – this had implications on her “fit and proper” status, which is necessary to hold an HMO licence.
