A BARRY man has been successfully prosecuted under new licensing legislation.

Damien Cross, of Rhodfa’r Gwagenni, Barry was fined more than £1,000 by Cardiff Magistrates Court, after being found guilty of renting out a property without the necessary licence.

Mr Cross had failed to obtain the appropriate licence needed in order to let out a property he owned in Romilly Road.

Legislation introduced in 2015 means that landlords must now be properly registered in order to let out and manage rental properties. Landlords who were not complying with the new rules at the time they were introduced were given 12 months to ensure that they had obtained the licence required.

Mr Cross, who self-managed the property, had registered it as a rented home but had not applied for a licence.

He was issued with a fixed penalty notice for his failure to comply, which he subsequently failed to pay, before attending court in November.

He was fined £660 for two offences under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014, and ordered to pay court costs of £543 and a victim surcharge of £33.

Vale of Glamorgan Council deputy leader, Cllr Hunter Jarvie, said: “It has been over a year since the deadline for all landlords with properties in Wales to become registered, and it is not acceptable that there are landlords and agents who still try to work around this law.

“There is no excuse for a commercial agent not to be registered and licensed, and the recent prosecution of an unlicensed Barry landlord is proof that we are taking action. I encourage any landlords who use a commercial agent to check they are compliant.”