TWO Coventry landlords have been fined £30,000 in total after being found guilty of failing to comply with a prohibition order served following failure to maintain health and safety standards on a property they were letting out.
The trial was heard over two days at Birmingham Magistrates Court after the case was brought to Coventry City Council.
The council were initially contacted by a charity supporting the vulnerable tenant in the property, with the building having deteriorated over several years.
It was deemed unfit to be lived in with no heating, no hot water and gas and electrical safety checks had not been carried out.
The kitchen and bathroom were in significant disrepair and the tenant was living in one ground-floor room as the upstairs floors were unsafe.
The Council served a Prohibition Order under the Housing Act 2004 prohibiting the whole property from being used for any purpose, meaning the landlords had to evict the tenant to carry out extensive works to make it suitable to be lived in.
The prohibition order wasn’t appealed by either of the landlords and the court imposed fines between the two of £20,000 for breaching the order and a punitive fine of £10,000, with the Council awarded its costs.
Coun David Welsh, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, said “This is important work by the Council’s housing enforcement team and environmental officers.
“We need to raise housing standards in the city and private landlords who fail to provide basic standards to tenants will be prosecuted.”
The Council has made an application for a Rent Repayment Order to recoup Housing Benefit paid to the Landlords.
