[22 OCT 98] COVENTRY
CITY COUNCIL PRESS RELEASE
City Landlord Fined For
Ignoring RepairsA private sector housing
landlord was yesterday fined £400 and ordered to pay £510 costs by Coventry Magistrates
Court for failing to carry out basic repairs in his rented property.
Mr Ashik Ali of 3 Gosport Road pleaded guilty to the offence of failing to comply with
a Housing Act Notice served on him by Coventry City Council.
Prosecuting Solicitor, Jane Linekar told the court that in December last year an
Environmental Health Officer visited the privately rented property in response to a
complaint about the poor conditions. The result was that the flat was declared unfit and a
repairs notice served. The list of repair work needed to be undertaken included:-
- Broken and boarded up window
The City Council’s Private Sector Housing team has the authority to serve repair
notices on landlords where they feel the accommodation is unfit or in serious disrepair.
These notices give a timescale in which work should be completed. Failure to do so is an
offence.
Commenting on the case, Councillor Peter Lacy, Chair of the City Council’s Housing
Policy Team said:
"Our Environmental Health officers work in partnership with private sector
landlords to ensure they are aware of their legal obligations to provide suitable living
conditions for their tenants. However, we will take legal action to protect people –
who after all deserve a better quality of life – when and if a landlord intentionally
fails to carry out vital repairs under a Housing Act Notice."
He added:
"This prosecution should send a clear message to private landlords across the city
to ensure their properties are habitable. Those that fail to do may well face legal action
if we receive complaints from private tenants."
NOTES:
The House Conditions Survey carried out in 1995 showed that
the private rented sector has some of the worst living conditions in the city. Of the
11,226 privately rented houses within the city 3,912 were found to be in an unsatisfactory
condition – 1, 656 were unfit.
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