A LETTING agency has been fined £1,000 by Bolton magistrates for renting out an unlicensed multiple occupancy house.

Under the Housing Act 2004, landlords have to have a licence to let out a shared house occupied by five or more people.

Bolton magistrates heard that Campus Cribs, which provides accommodation for students, let a house in Chadwick Street, Bolton, in September, 2011, to five tenants without a licence.

Sean Joyce, defending, said the directors of the company, Craig Barlow and Abdul Ahmed, were not aware so many students were tenants at the house because of an administrative error. They have since obtained the licence and installed the required fire detection system and door locks legally required at the house.

Bolton magistrates fined the company £1,000 and ordered it to pay £1,000 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.