City council gets tough on landlords and letting agents
Added 26.07.10
Private housing landlords have been warned that Peterborough City Council does take matters seriously when landlords fail to comply with housing enforcement notices that require properties to be brought up to a suitable living standard.
The warning comes after a private landlord and a city letting agent were prosecuted and ordered to pay fines by Peterborough Magistrates' Court for failing to comply with improvement notices.
The landlord, Asad Javaid of Alexandra Road, Peterborough, pleaded guilty to ignoring an improvement notice. He was fined £300 with £300 council costs.
Mohammed Jamil and Nadim Pervez, who trade as letting agent Peterborough Homelet of Lincoln Road, Peterborough, were fined £500 and ordered to pay £300 costs in their absence.
Peterborough City Council housing enforcement officer Peter Bezant found the agent’s properties were suffering from extensive disrepair during an inspection.
This ranged from unsuitably arranged kitchen facilities and dampness to inadequate heating and hot water as well as insecure external doors.
Bezant said: “We are very pleased with these successful prosecutions and the level of fines awarded in these cases. We hope this sends a clear message out to all landlords and letting agents operating in the city about their responsibilities to maintain their properties, as well as the penalties they will face if they do not comply.
“The majority of landlords and letting agents in Peterborough fulfil their property repair obligations without the need for the city council to step in and take action.
“However, in some cases the council gets involved to resolve issues through informal action. If informal action fails to produce the desired results we will not hesitate to take enforcement action.”
When a letting agent is appointed by a property owner to take control of the day-to-day management of a property they are responsible for keeping it in good repair to ensure that it is suitable for a tenant to move in.
News feed courtesy of Residential Landlord