Odense hostel shut after fire and missing permit

An illegal hostel in central Odense has been closed indefinitely, forcing several guests onto the street, DR reports.

Odense Municipality ordered the building to be vacated after a fire there last week, saying owner Thomas Lund Hansen did not have permission to operate a hostel in the building. The municipality said documentation proving that fire safety requirements had been met was missing.

Guests were still staying in several rooms when municipal officials arrived on Thursday morning. Thomas Lund Hansen would not let them enter, so police and a locksmith were called, according to Birgitte J. T. K. Nielsen, head of urban development at Odense Municipality.

Minso Kim from South Korea had stayed at the building for several weeks and had planned to remain for a few more days while attending a summer school at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense.

Instead, he was told to pack his belongings and leave.

“The staff told me that I had to check out. If there are safety problems, I will check out, but there is no compensation or apology,” he said.

After the closure, removal workers began taking furniture and other items out of the hostel.

Owner has faced previous safety cases

Thomas Lund Hansen has previously been involved in cases where residents had to leave a building because safety requirements had not been properly addressed.

“It is completely unacceptable that we are dealing with someone who repeatedly breaks the rules, and now we see that he has operated a hostel without having a permit,” said Lars Christian Lilleholt, Odense’s councillor for urban development and culture.

DR News met Thomas Lund Hansen outside the building earlier on Thursday, but he did not want to answer questions.

Councillor calls for national action

Lilleholt said municipalities needed better tools to deal with landlords and people operating businesses such as hostels without permission.

“We need to examine what we can do when someone apparently can simply operate a hostel without obtaining a permit. We need more tools to intervene,” he said.

He said the Danish Parliament should consider creating a register of landlords with a history of serious problems, withdrawing permits including occupancy permits, and establishing a board to resolve disputes between municipalities and landlords.

Odense Municipality is waiting for several matters to be clarified before taking further action. The clarification is expected to be ready on Friday, Birgitte J. T. K. Nielsen said.