Norwich City Council was successful in prosecuting two landlords at Norwich Magistrates’ Court yesterday for putting tenants at risk.
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Landlord Timothy Harber pleaded guilty to five offences under the Housing Act 2004 on 10 July relating to one property. He received fines and was ordered to pay costs totalling £3,403.
The council brought the case against him after a December 2012 inspection of one of the eight properties he owns in Norwich revealed tenants were living with a number of hazards.
A private sector housing officer found that 8 Lower Clarence Road, which is made up of six bedsits, had:
- no fire detection;
- no fixed heating;
- and a number of badly damaged fire doors.
In a separate case also heard yesterday at Norwich Magistrates Court, landlord Rodney Martins pleaded guilty to five offences relating to two properties under the Housing Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) Regulations 2006 on 10 July.
He received fines and was ordered to pay costs totalling £8,920. The city council prosecuted him for breaching a prohibition order under the Housing Act 2004 at 103a Motum Road.
In April 2012, a private sector housing officer inspected the three-bedroom house and found it to be a house in multiple occupation (HMO) with eight tenants. All tenants shared one kitchen and one bathroom. The council served improvement notices requiring fire safety improvements and a prohibition order limiting the occupation of the house to five people.
Subsequent inspections of the house found up to 10 tenants at the property.
Norwich City Council also prosecuted Mr Martins for breaching the management of houses in multiple occupation (HMO) regulations 2006 at 14 Notridge Road. A private sector housing officer inspected this property in January 2013 and found it was a HMO with six adults and a child living there.
All of the occupiers shared one kitchen and one bathroom. Besides overcrowding, the house had no fire detection and no door on the kitchen, which increased the risk of fire spread. The escape route was being used as storage space and had a door that was locked with a key.
Private sector housing officer Ellen Spencer says: “We are pleased with this result, which sends a clear message that vulnerable tenants can expect to be safe in their own homes. We have been working with the fire service to get the message across to landlords that they cannot compromise fire safety.
“Landlords who choose to put their tenants at risk through persistently ignoring fire safety or by overcrowding their houses can expect to be taken to court.”
Richard Herrell, head of Community Fire Protection Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service, adds: “Norwich City Council works closely with Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service to support landlords in achieving compliance. The outcome from today’s proceeding shows the consequences of failing to take responsibility for people’s safety, to whom a duty of care is owed.
“The impact of fire on residents can have catastrophic consequences, which in many cases are avoidable.”
