Fixed penalty issued to private landlord in Pendle

 

The fixed penalty was issued in May 2023 by Pendle Borough Council under the Housing and Planning Act 2016. 

It allows councils to issue fines where improvement notices have been ignored up to a maximum penalty of £30,000 per offence. 

The landlord was served with improvement notices by the Council in October 2022 following an inspection earlier in the month when several serious hazards were found.

Another visit in January 2023 confirmed that the landlord had done no repairs.

All contact was ignored so the Council stepped in to ensure work was done to make the property safe and remove any health risks.

Repairs needed included a toilet leaking into the kitchen which was of imminent risk to the health of the tenant.

Other repairs included a large hole in the kitchen ceiling, broken kitchen sink, taps and waste pipe and leaking radiators. The property also needed a new gas boiler.

There was already an outstanding debt of £5,000 on the property from 2016 after an inspection in 2015 had also found serious hazards.  

Improvement notices were served at that time and ignored by the landlord, so the Council arranged extensive repairs.

Councillor Asjad Mahmood, Leader of Pendle Borough Council, said: “It’s so important that landlords fulfil their duty to maintain their properties to ensure they are in a decent, healthy and safe condition for their tenants. 

“The majority of Pendle landlords do provide good quality housing but unfortunately, there are some that don’t and in these instances, action is taken against them.

“This landlord repeatedly ignored our improvement notices allowing the property to fall into a terrible state.”

Councillor Mohammad Ammer, Executive Portfolio Holder for Housing, Health and Wellbeing, added: “If there are any reasons that work cannot be carried out, it’s important that landlords speak to us to see if we can help.

“We do have a duty to take enforcement action where necessary.”