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A successful prosecution has underlined Leeds City Council\u2019s determination to tackle rogue private sector landlords and the issues they cause for their beleaguered tenants.<\/p>\n
The council brought the prosecution against the landlord of a private rental property in the Dewsbury Road area of Beeston after he failed to address a catalogue of problems with the house, including damp and mould, substandard heating and ventilation, fire hazards and inadequate kitchen facilities.<\/p>\n
When the case went before magistrates last month, the landlord was fined \u00a3537 and ordered to pay the council\u2019s \u00a36,542 legal costs after admitting non-compliance with an improvement notice served under the terms of the Housing Act 2004.<\/p>\n
But the hearing was not the first time that this landlord has been left counting the cost of his mismanagement of the house, which he owns.<\/p>\n
He has also received civil penalties totalling \u00a337,000 since issues with the property came to the attention of the council\u2019s private sector housing service in 2021.<\/p>\n
And today those penalties and the outcome of the recent prosecution were hailed as a sign of the service\u2019s commitment to taking enforcement action whenever and wherever appropriate.<\/p>\n
Councillor Mary Harland, Leeds City Council\u2019s executive member for housing, said:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cAs a council, we want everyone in Leeds to enjoy the peace of mind that comes with having a warm, safe and well-managed place to live.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo do this, we need to keep a keen focus on all types of housing \u2013 including private rentals, which account for a fifth of the city\u2019s homes.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegrettably, some private landlords neglect their responsibilities to the point where they are renting out unsafe, damp, cold or poorly maintained properties.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis prosecution, coupled with the previously-imposed civil penalties, illustrates our determination to rein in such landlords and bring about improved living conditions for their tenants.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The council first took enforcement action against the Beeston landlord over the property in May 2021, when it issued him with a civil penalty of \u00a38,250.<\/p>\n
The penalty was imposed after it emerged he did not have a licence to rent out the house, as required by a regulatory scheme \u2013 known as selective licensing \u2013 that was operating in the Beeston area at the time.<\/p>\n
He subsequently secured the correct licence but, following a complaint to the council by his tenant in December 2022, an inspection revealed various problems inside the house that meant it was not up to the standard needed for compliance with the scheme.<\/p>\n
Licence holders were obliged to ensure the internal structures of their rental properties \u2013 as well as windows and other means of ventilation \u2013 were properly maintained and that any fixtures, fittings and appliances were in good repair and working order.<\/p>\n
The landlord\u2019s failure to do so led the council to issue him with another civil penalty \u2013 this time amounting to \u00a328,750 \u2013 in October 2023.<\/p>\n
An improvement notice \u2013 served by the council in May 2024 \u2013 then set out a detailed programme of work that had to be completed at the property by October 2 last year.<\/p>\n
An inspection following that deadline found much of the required work had not started and the decision was therefore taken to prosecute.<\/p>\n
The prosecution was brought by the council in its role as the primary enforcement agency tasked with protecting the health, safety and welfare of people living in private sector housing in Leeds.<\/p>\n
To support that work, two selective licensing schemes \u2013 one in Beeston and the other in the Harehills area of the city \u2013 were introduced by the council in 2020.<\/p>\n
They achieved impressive results before ending in January this year, with landlords carrying out property improvements that saw an estimated 6,000 people benefiting from better living conditions.<\/p>\n
The council\u2019s executive board voted in October this year to introduce an expanded selective licensing scheme that takes in parts of the Armley, Beeston & Holbeck, Burmantofts & Richmond Hill, Gipton & Harehills, Hunslet & Riverside and Farnley & Wortley wards. Preparations are continuing for the launch of the expanded scheme early next year.<\/p>\n
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