Edinburgh landlord set to lose HMO licence after falsifying electrical safety certificate

Bashiran Ahmed is also not registered as a landlord despite requesting a renewal of her HMO licence.

The property at 7 Lady Road

An Edinburgh landlord is set to lose her licence to run a house of multiple occupancy (HMO) after inspectors discovered she had falsified a safety certificate.

Bashiran Ahmed, who had applied for a renewal for her HMO licence which is needed to legally rent a property to three or more non-related people, also failed to keep gas safety certificates up to date.

The landlord, who lets out 7 Lady Road in Edinburgh, is also not registered as an official landlord.

In a report to Edinburgh City Council’s licencing sub-committee, council officers recommend that Ms Ahmed’s application for a renewal of her HMO licence is refused.

Inspectors tasked with checking Ms Ahmed’s application found that the landlord had falsified an electrical safety certificate by altering the length the certificate was valid for.

They also discovered gaps in the gas safety certificate for the property with more than six months missing in the application.

Both safety certificates are required for a HMO licence to be granted and are used by councils as a safety measure to ensure that a property is safe to rent out to tenants.

The report states that the electrical safety certificate had been altered to state it was valid for six years rather than five, while the property did not have a valid gas safety certificate between May 2018 and January 2019.

When asked for an explanation by inspectors, Ms Ahmed’s son, Nadim Ahmed, said he didn’t know anything as it was his mother who submitted the application.

Ms Ahmed was also found to have let her landlord registration lapse in December 2017, a legal requirement to operate as a landlord.

For these reasons, the officers said: “It is recommended that the committee refuses the application on the grounds that the applicant is not fit and proper.”

The council are able to refuse applications if they believe a property is not suitable for occupation as a HMO, or the applicant is not a fit and proper person to hold a licence, or any conditions of holding a valid HMO are breached.

The final decision will be made at the licencing sub-committee meeting today.

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