A former Countrywide property agent who now works for a family-run company that runs one of the UK's largest private rental property portfolios says identifying which properties require a license is a “struggle”. He told the court that.
Amal Hoti, who was Countrywide's head of property management before joining Lexadon Property Group, said his company, run by the Knight family, had paid a total of £15,290 in back rent to three of its tenants. I was told by the court that I had to pay. 60% of original claim. 
Lexadon operates 750 rental properties across the UK, but the RRO concerned an HMO property in Clapham Road, London.
The three tenants moved into the home in November 2021. It was a month before Lambeth City Council introduced an additional licensing scheme for the area. The court heard Lambeth advertised the scheme and sent letters, but no letters regarding the flat.
relief
In mitigation, Lexadon told the First-tier Real Estate Tribunal that it had struggled to identify which properties required a license and faced “significant difficulties” in training staff to apply for real estate licenses. He said there was.
Hoti, the company's operations director, said the company learned it needed a license in November 2023 and was granted the license in April 2024.
The three tenants moved out in February 2024 and the apartment is no longer an HMO as it is now let to two individuals. The court heard a trio of tenants complained of broken bathroom windows and mold, as well as carbon monoxide and an expired fire alarm.
Hoti said the company is a family-run company that values its employees and this was a real mistake. All HMOs are currently licensed.
However, the judge said: “This person is a professional landlord who owns a number of properties. Appropriate arrangements should have been made to ensure that the properties requiring a license were licensed. A license was required at the start of the tenancy. was not required. However, the tenant was renewed. We consider this violation to be serious, but not the most serious.”
This is not the first time Lexadon has had to pay an RRO. Last year the company had to repay £10,108 in respect of an unlicensed HMO.
Learn more about RRO here.
Read the full court hearing report.
