Liverpool City Council has placed a Banning Order on a letting agent operating unlicensed Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO).

Trophy Homes has been hit with the order relating to convictions from February 2023 as revealed by The Neg including the failure to license two HMO properties. The firm has a flashy website but is based in a careworn converted garage behind a cat welfare charity in the city.

BANNING ORDER

The Banning Order was granted on Thursday, 25 April 2024, under the Housing and Planning Act 2016 and will remain in place for four years.

As a result of the Order, Trophy Homes will also be placed on the Database of Rogue Landlords and Property Agents, to which all housing authorities in England have access.

The order was granted by a First-tier Tribunal and prohibits the letting agent from letting housing in England, engaging in English letting agency work, engaging in English property management work, or doing two or more of those things. Breaching the Banning Order is a criminal offence.

Existing tenancies are not subject to the ban for a period of six months, meaning Trophy Homes is prevented from granting any new tenancies, but current tenancies can end or assign without significant impact on current occupiers.

CHARGED £250,000

Earlier this month Trophy Homes was fined £250,000 for the failure to license their HMO properties.

Louise Harford, Liverpool City Council’s Interim Director of Housing, says: “We will always work with landlords and letting agents in the city – but we will also always take action where it is needed to keep tenants safe.

“It is extremely disappointing that Trophy Homes has not taken their responsibilities as letting agents seriously and this Banning Order will give them a substantial amount of time to get their own house in order.

“The granting of this Order will also send a further signal that the council’s Private Sector Housing team will not tolerate landlords and letting agents who ignore their legal obligations.”