A London landlord has failed in his bid to overturn a rent repayment order after a tribunal rejected his claim that he didn’t know he needed to apply for an HMO licence and that, even if he had, a cyberattack on the council would have prevented him from doing so.

The property, an ex-council flat on Hackney’s George Downing Estate, was rented to four tenants between 2020 and 2022 without the required HMO licence. They then took their landlord, John Campbell, to court, winning an initial ruling and £14,000 in rent repayments.

IT crippled

Campbell appealed, telling the tribunal he had been unaware that an HMO licence was required, but said that even if he had known, Hackney Council’s 2020 cyberattack had “crippled” its IT systems and would have made it impossible for him to submit an application.

He also claimed the property was well maintained and accused the tenants of being “aggressive and opportunistic” in pursuing the case.

The tenants described a series of maintenance issues at the property during the Tribunal hearing, including a faulty boiler, stove and broken fittings.

They also claimed they once went a week without heating and hot water and, instead of organising a plumber, that Campbell had sent them a YouTube video on how to fix the boiler themselves. And they added that it had taken him four months to repair a broken blind.

Hardship plea

Campbell argued that repaying the full £14,000 would cause “real hardship” to his family because his self-employed income was just £26,100. The tribunal noted, though, that he owned a £1.4 million home with around £800,000 in equity and that his tax returns were “not conclusive evidence” of income.

The tribunal dismissed his appeal, finding no evidence that the cyberattack had prevented a licence application, but reduced his RRO to around £11,000 after acknowledging the property had been in generally good condition.

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