A Labour council says its latest prosecution of a landlord shows its determination to champion what it calls “beleaguered tenants.”
Leeds council brought the prosecution against the landlord of a private rental property in the Beeston area after he allegedly failed to address damp and mould, substandard heating and ventilation, fire hazards and inadequate kitchen facilities.
When the case went before magistrates last month, the landlord was fined £537 and ordered to pay the council’s £6,542 legal costs after admitting non-compliance with an improvement notice served under the terms of the Housing Act 2004.
But the hearing was not the first for the landlord who had previously received civil penalties totalling £37,000 since 2021.
A council statement says the authority looks upon these penalties “as a sign of [its] commitment to taking enforcement action whenever and wherever appropriate.”
A spokesperson says: “Regrettably, some private landlords neglect their responsibilities to the point where they are renting out unsafe, damp, cold or poorly maintained properties.
“This prosecution, coupled with the previously-imposed civil penalties, illustrates our determination to rein in such landlords and bring about improved living conditions for their tenants.”
The council first took enforcement action against the Beeston landlord over the property in May 2021, when it issued him with a civil penalty of £8,250.
The penalty was imposed after it emerged he did not have a selective licence. He subsequently secured the correct licence but, following a complaint to the council by his tenant in December 2022, an inspection revealed that it was not up to the standard needed for compliance with the scheme.
This article is taken from Landlord Today