Council prosecutes Wycombe landlord for unsafe rented house

01 June 2010

Wycombe District Council today won a case it brought against local landlord Mr Itlaf Hussain of High Wycombe. Mr Hussain pleaded guilty to six charges in court today in connection with a multiple occupancy property in Oakridge Road, High Wycombe which he rents out to tenants.

When officers from Wycombe District Council's Environmental Health team visited the property it was found to be in very bad state. Urgent emergency remedial electrical work was needed in order to make the property safe.

The six charges and fines imposed were:

1. Failure to display the landlord's name, address and telephone contact number in a prominent position at the rented property (£500).
2. Failure to clearly display notices showing tenants the means of escape from fire (£1,000).
3. Failure to ensure the drainage system was maintained in a good clean and working condition. Inspectors found that the soil pipe of the toilet had a hole in it, was not properly connected to the drainage system and was leaking (£1,000).
4. Failure to maintain common parts of the property in a safe and working condition - in particular relating to unsafe electrics. Inspectors found a total of 24 defects at the property including a 13 amp power point in the shower cubicle, no electrical earth for the property and bare live wires protruding from an outside wall (£1,000).
5. Failure to ensure the garden was kept in a safe and tidy condition. Officers found the garden shed was propped up and in danger of collapse. Floorboards with 15cm rusty nails protruding were stored in the garden where children played (£500).
6. failure to maintain the gas cooker in good repair Mr Hussain could not provide a Gas Safe certificate for the property (£1,000).

As a result, the District Judge at Bracknell Magistrates' Court imposed fines totalling £6,758 - £5,000 penalty costs and ordered Mr Hussain to pay costs of £1,743 and a victim surcharge of £15.

Officers from Wycombe District Council's Environmental Health team made numerous separate checks at the property over several months and on each occasion found that Mr Hussain was not complying fully with the law relating to renting houses in multiple occupation (HMOs). They issued the landlord with verbal and written warnings before initiating the legal enforcement proceedings which resulted in the fines imposed by the court in Bracknell today.

In passing sentence, the judge commented that as a landlord Mr Hussain had clearly failed in his legal and moral duty to ensure that the property he rented out to tenants was not a risk to their health and safety.

Councillor Chris Watson, Cabinet Member for Homes and Housing at Wycombe District Council said: "Our officers work with local landlords to ensure that they are aware of their obligations to tenants. In most cases, responsible landlords work with us to ensure that the properties they rent out are safe. Regrettably, in some instances, landlords take no remedial action and tenants lives may even be put at risk as a result. In these cases, we can and do prosecute."