The owner of a home where a fire occurred last week, killing a tenant, lacked a rental license according to a city spokesman.

The Star Tribune reported the home that Jenny Soumountha Syonesa was renting the south Minneapolis home from Xayasack Ratsamy, according to city records and a family friend. Syonesa died when a fire broke out at the house on July 28.

Because the house was not a licensed rental property, it had not been inspected for fire hazards.

The city had begun to work with Ratsamy this year to bring the house into compliance, according to city spokesman Matt Laible.

Laible said Ratsamy stated that the home was owner-occupied after the home was found to be rented without a license, and was issued a citation and fine of $500.

The cause of the fire could not be determined by investigators.