Hastings Borough Council has successfully prosecuted a landlord for failing to comply with an ‘Improvement Notice’ at property he owns in Braybooke Road, Hastings.
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Mr Terence Paxman, of Firdene, Greenmeads, Woking, Surrey, G22 9QJ. was fined £4 250, and awarded to pay full costs, and a victim surcharge, meaning he had to pay £5 525 to the court, because of his failure to remedy damp problems, fire safety and domestic hygiene hazards. Mr Paxman initially pleaded not guilty, but then changed his plea to guilty.
Cllr Kim Forward, Hastings Borough Council’s lead member for housing, explained “We are committed to improving the standards of housing in Hastings. We always try and work with landlords, but Mr Paxman simply would not respond to our attempts to deal with the problems informally. We have previously taken successful enforcement action at this property and it’s a shame that Mr Paxman hadn’t learnt from that experience.
“These works were about protecting the health and safety of his often vulnerable tenants, including children and babies. Damp and mould was found in the property, and holes which left the property vulnerable to rat infestation :- Mr Paxman did not deal with these. He would not even provide simple rubbish bins for his tenants!
” East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service were so concerned when they were called out to the property that they fitted battery operated smoke detectors to protect the tenants and took their own enforcement action, which the landlord also failed to comply with.
“The work to protect tenants from fire remain unfinished today, some 18 months after Mr Paxman was served with a formal notice.
“I am very pleased that the court supported our action fining Mr Paxman the near maximum amount and ordering him to pay full costs.
“We are sending a clear message to the landlords in our town who do not comply with the regulations which ensure their tenants are adequately protected :- Hastings Borough Council will not tolerate poor housing, and if you won’t work with us to improve your property if it is substandard, you can expect us to use the full force of the law against you.”
George O’Reilly, station commander at Hastings Fire station, added :- “This property was simply an accident waiting to happen, with possibly tragic consequences. We had to take action ourselves to try and protect the tenants against fire, clearly something the landlord should have done. I am very pleased that, ultimately, we have got the right result here.
“We would much rather prevent fires than fight them, and hope that other landlords will take note and ensure that their tenants have fire detection equipment installed. As ever the Fire Service and Local Authority are here to assist and advise landlords and other Responsible Persons to enable them to fully comply with what the law and society expects of them.”
