A YORK man who has been a landlord for 20 years faces a £1,724 court bill after an unannounced inspection found a lack of fire safety equipment at one of his properties.

York magistrates heard six people were living at Anton McLaughlin’s property in Markham Crescent, off Haxby Road, York.

But although the six people were not a single household, McLaughlin had not licensed the property as a house of multiple occupation (HMO).

York magistrates heard the house did not have the correct fire detection or prevention equipment and was not up to the standard required of an HMO.

Defence solicitor Kevin Blount said McLaughlin did not realise he needed a licence because he believed the house was three separate flats.

But because each flat was not separated from the rest of the house by a lockable door, housing law said the building was a house in multiple occupation.

Since the council’s visit in September 2011, he had installed fire doors and fire equipment among other work and now only accepted four tenants – below the minimum number for a HMO.

Former window cleaner McLaughlin, 47, of Stockton Lane, York, pleaded guilty to breaching housing regulations and was fined £1,000 with a £15 victim surcharge and ordered to pay £709.50 prosecution costs to City of York Council, who brought the case against him. He has 20 to 21 tenants in several properties.

Senior magistrate Hilary Fairwood told him: “This is a matter of public safety and the court takes it extremely seriously.

“You say you have been a landlord for 20 years.

“We believe you must know it is your duty to comply with the law as it relates to your business.”

Mr Blount said the premises had only had five people for four months and for two-and-a-half months of that time there had been six people in the house.

“The tenants lived in separate self-contained areas and did not have the right to go into any room occupied by a different tenant. The law on the area was not easy to understand, he said.