Cardiff Council has successfully prosecuted a private company for offences under the Licensing and Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Additional Provisions)(Wales) Regulations 2007.
Mr Watley, from Suffolk, a partner in the business, Geneva Investments (Switzerland) was fined £1100; ordered to pay costs of £1500 and a victim surcharge of £110. He was given 90 days to pay.
The Court was informed that the company owned a property at 34/35 Clifton Street, Adamsdown, which contains two self contained flats. Council officers had identified that the following offences had been committed under the regulations:
Failure to maintain the fire doors to the flats.
Defective elements to the electrical installations
Failure to submit gas safety certificates.
Failure to provide electrical safety certificates
Failure to maintain the windows
Failure to maintain the security of the second floor flat entrance door
Failure to eliminate penetrating damp.
Councillor Bob Derbyshire, Cabinet Member for Environment said: “This was a serious breach of the safety regulations by this company. There were a number of safety concerns and risks for the tenants including missing stair rail guards. Critically, as the fire alarm system had been disabled, the tenants would have had no time to get out if there had been a fire”.
Councillor Derbyshire added, “The council will take appropriate legal action against any landlord who fails to comply with the law and in doing so puts their tenants at risk”.
The defendant informed the Court that he believed that the outstanding repairs had been completed and admitted that he had only visited the property 4 times in 9 years. He accepted that it had been his responsibility to get the repairs completed, but told the court that he lives in a different part of the country and has properties in a lot of different locations.
Summing up, the Deputy District Judge told him that “the Council had a right to be concerned” and that it is “not good enough to be an absentee landlord in case something had gone wrong”. He further considered that a “lack of supervision creates considerable risk”.’
Advice on standards in rented property can be obtained by contacting Cardiff Council’s Private Sector Housing team on 029 2087 1762 / 1764/ 1764 or by emailing [email protected]
