Another excellent example of why Tenants should use a reputable Letting Agent. A Landlord who allowed tenants to live in shabby accommodation has been ordered to pay more than £4,000 in fines and costs.
A catalogue of problems was found at the flat in Weymouth, Dorset, prompting the borough council to declare the property unsafe for occupation, but the landlord, later moved new tenants into the same property – a poorly-converted conservatory – which put him in breach of a prohibition order.
The Landlord pleaded guilty to breaching the order at Weymouth Magistrate’s Court and was fined £2,500 as well as having to pay a £15 victim surcharge. He was also ordered to pay court costs of £1,784.38. The court was told a borough council environmental health officer declared the ground floor flat unsafe for occupation in November 2008, and he was issued with the prohibition order.
Problems discovered included:
* No provision for heating in the living room and bedroom.
* Hand wash basin in the bathroom not connected to waste pipe.
* Inadequate ventilation in bathroom.
* Bathroom door and frame missing.
* Inadequate provision for storage of food.
* Insufficient space for oven in kitchen (a small cooker was provided on top of a fridge with the potential to fall on occupants and cause serious burns).
* No windows or ventilation to the flat other than the front door.
* Clear corrugated plastic sheeting was the only roof covering for living and bedroom areas.
The court was further told the council was made aware the flat was being occupied in February 2010 after receiving information from Dorset Fire and Rescue Service. An environmental health officer visited and found the Landlord at the premises with his business partner.
The officer saw the conservatory was being occupied, in breach of the order. The Landlord admitted in interview that tenants had moved in during July 2009.
Magistrates heard he had previously been convicted for a similar offence earlier this year in Somerset after he continued to let a property which had been declared unfit for occupation without adequate fire safety measures to 13 people, two of whom were children.
