A landlord who chose to ignore an improvement notice to rectify hazards to a family rented home received a fine in court.

At the hearing the presiding judge heard how safety improvements were failed to be carried out that included a dangerous outbuilding, unsafe wiring and appliances, as well as a decrepit external staircase, together with large areas of damp and mould in the home, by the Wolverhampton landlord.

The landlord was slapped with an improvement notice last year on June 12th and given twelve weeks to rectify all the problems. He simply ignored the notice about his three bedroomed property in Dudley.

At the hearing on July 9th this year he pleaded guilty to the charge of not complying with the notice, and for his lack of effort he was fined £4,750 at Dudley Magistrates Courts.

 

On top of the fine he was also ordered to pay the council £1,492.50 in costs plus a victim surcharge of £120.

Councillor Gaye Partridge, cabinet member for housing, said: “This was a particularly worrying case as there were children living in the premises and the landlord had done nothing at all to comply with the notice.

“The staff in private sector housing work extremely hard to ensure the health and welfare of borough tenants which is shown in their vigilance in getting another case to a successful outcome.

“It is the second case in as many months and highlights our commitment to making sure that landlords who fail to keep their properties up to a safe standard will be prosecuted.”