Landlord fined for illegal 13 person houseshare

The house was found to have serious issues with overcrowding, fire safety and mould

A landlord has been fined £36,000 for housing 13 people, including children, in a single semi-detached house.

The property in Patchway was found to have severe damp and mould, inadequate fire precautions and no fixed heating.

Giuseppe Sutera, known also as Joe Sutera, made headlines after refusing to identify himself in court last year, stating only that he was "a man" and that Joe Sutera was "lost at sea".

But this week at Bristol Magistrates Court he pleaded guilty to two offences.

'Overcrowded conditions'

South Gloucestershire Council, who brought the prosecution, found that Mr Sutera was operating an illegal house of multiple occupation (HMO) at the two-storey property in Stroud Road and accused him of two offences - operating the house without a license and ongoing breach of an emergency prohibition order.

The council's private sector housing team was first alerted to the property in March 2023, and later found 13 people living in overcrowded conditions.

The kitchen facilities were found to be "inadequate and unhygienic" and the damp issues exacerbated by the overcrowding, lack of heating and poor insulation.

An assessment found that the house met the most serious hazard levels for crowding and space, excess cold, fire and food safety.

After refusing to engage with officers Mr Sutera was served two notices under the Housing Act 2004 - an overcrowding notice to limit the number of tenants and another requiring him to carry out improvements.

Despite a previous prosecution, the team at South Gloucestershire Council found he was "determined to flout housing legislation and run his properties in a manner that puts his tenant’s health, safety and wellbeing at risk".

'No apparent effort'

The court heard this week that Sutera was committing an "ongoing and flagrant" breach of an Emergency Prohibition Order (EPO) imposed in October 2022, requiring him to ensure the house was empty until a serious fire risk - a kitchen placed in the fire escape route - was rectified.

He was first prosecuted in breach of this in June 2023, when he claimed to be "lost at sea", but was found to have since been allowing existing tenants to remain in the house and even letting new tenants move in.

Despite council officers carrying out visits to inform tenants of the risks of staying, and providing advice on re-housing options, the property remained occupied and Mr Sutera made "no apparent effort" to improve the property.

After also being fined £44,000 last June, Mr Sutera has now been ordered to pay more than £80,000 in total.

Shaun Fudge, service manager for private sector housing at South Gloucestershire Council, said: “It’s unacceptable when landlords fail to meet their legal responsibilities in relation to the conditions of the homes they offer for rent."

He added: “The level of the fines handed out to this landlord acts as serious warning to others disregarding the rules that they have a legal responsibility to protect their tenants and provide a safe and decent property for them to live in, and if they fail to do this, action will be taken.”