Landlords face new fines (From Oxford Mail)

Landlords face new fines

6:22pm Wednesday 27th May 2009

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DODGY landlords have been warned they will face new fines under an Oxford City Council initiative.

The council’s executive board plans to charge £300 for issuing notices related to hazards in residential accommodation.

The council has previously not charged for the official improvement notices, which warn landlords they will be taken to court if they do not act to improve their properties.

It is hoped the new move will encourage landlords to act quickly if the council orders work to be carried out.

Executive member for housing Ed Turner said: “It’s an important part of our work to tackle bad landlords –– the minority who let down their tenants, and the wider community.

“People will be warned, but if they ignore the council's warnings, they must be prepared to face a legal notice and the financial penalty of £300, with the threat of prosecution if they continue to ignore us. I would encourage tenants concerned by the state of their property, and getting no joy from their landlord, to get in touch. The quality of privately rented housing in the city is a huge issue.”

Between April 2008 and March this year, the city council issued 35 notices ordering landlords to improve properties.

If the new charges had been in effect, it would have boosted council coffers by £10,000.

Housing officer Gail Siddall said: “The change will affect all landlords, but good landlords should respond and get the work sorted before a notice is served.”

In 2008, the city council received a record 1,600 complaints by tenants –– 200 more than the previous year –– for problems ranging from collapsed ceilings to rat infestations. It took 19 landlords to court. Some of the worst conditions were found in houses of multiple occupation (HMO) used by people referred by the council's housing department, social services, or rented by students. Landlady Joginder Dhanjal, 65, from Rose Hill, was fined more than £2,500 by Oxford magistrates in October last year for not maintaining a property in Donnington Bridge Road, East Oxford.

When officers visited the eight-bedroom house, for which Dhanjal charged £70 per week per tenant, they found a filthy kitchen, a condemned cooker unused for over a year, and tenants living without gas or heating.

Dhanjal claimed that she had not known what was expected of her.

But Ian Wright, the city council’s public health manager, said it was clear in the council's regulations what was required.

He said: “While the tenants have a responsibility to maintain the property to a certain degree, it is up to the manager of an HMO to keep the common parts of the property clean and safe.”

Mr Turner added: “Right now some of the most vulnerable people are getting housed in unhealthy and dangerous properties.”

tshepherd@oxfordmail.co.uk

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