Two landlords have been prosecuted within a week for failing to maintain four rented properties in Swansea.
In two separate prosecutions brought by Swansea Council, Leyton Harvard of Gwelfor, Heol Llanelli, Trimsaran, Carmarthenshire and Adam Jonathan Musson of 6 St Marks Road, Bath, were each fined over £4,000 by Swansea Magistrates.
Two houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) at 129 and 131 Long View Road, Clase, belonging to Mr Harvard, were visited by Council Environmental Health Officers last year. During the visit a number of issues relating to the repair and management of the properties were found.
Martin Saville, Swansea Council’s Head of Public Protection, said: “Landlords have a duty to ensure the properties they rent out are properly maintained and are safe for tenants to live in.
“We gave Mr Harvard the opportunity to carry out work to rectify the problems but he failed to comply with the Council’s improvement notices.”
Mr Harvard did not attend court when summonsed and failed to enter a plea. Swansea Magistrates heard the case in his absence and imposed fines of £7,200 for a total of nine charges and ordered him to pay costs of £1,896 plus a £15 victim surcharge.
Dr Musson is the landlord of houses in multiple occupation at 1 Paxton Street and 20 Victoria Terrace, Swansea. He pleaded guilty to failing to comply with an Improvement Notice requiring him to carry out works at each property and also of failing to comply with specific licensing requirements for the properties which included failing to ensure safe means of escape in case of fire.
Magistrates imposed fines of £4,000 for a total of four charges and ordered him to pay costs of £1,650 plus a victim surcharge of £15.
Cllr John Hague, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “Swansea has a lot of excellent landlords but these cases show there are still some who clearly disregard their responsibilities towards their tenants.
“The level of fines shows the seriousness of the offences and should give a strong message to other landlords who try to avoid their legal obligations.”
