Action taken against Hotel being used as an unsafe and unlicensed HMO in Skegness

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The District Council investigated the Avondale Hotel on Scarborough Avenue after it became apparent that it was being used for permanent residential accommodation and not solely as a Hotel. Furthermore, the property didn’t meet a range of important fire safety and general safety standards.

The faults at the property included a lack of fire doors to protect residents in the event of a fire; a fire alarm system which doesn’t comply with HMO standards, a lack of fire protection between floors and a lack of kitchen facilities.

Although operating under the term ‘Hotel’, earlier this month a Residential Property Tribunal confirmed that it was in fact operating as a HMO, and therefore if the owners of the property wish to continue to operate in this way they must comply with Housing legislation. This means they may need a licence from the District Council.

Portfolio Holder for Housing, Councillor John Upsall, said: “A high proportion of fires start in HMOs and it’s really important that we do anything we can to reduce this risk. We enforce these regulations along with our partners to protect our community from potential fires and other major health and safety issues and to ensure our residents have a good standard of accommodation to live in.”

In August, Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, issued a Prohibition Notice to prevent the premises being used as a HMO or a Hotel because it was considered dangerous. This means that at present only the owner and immediate family are allowed to live at the address.

The owner of the property must now agree to undertake a schedule of works before the property can be used as a HMO or Hotel again.