SWANSEA Council has urged city landlords to maintain their properties or face action after it successfully prosecuted another rogue landlord for renting out an unsatisfactory property.
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Christopher Jones is the eighth landlord to be prosecuted in eight months by the Council after he pleaded guilty to a catalogue of health & safety-related breaches at a house in multiple occupation (HMO).
Mr Jones from Bishopston in Swansea pleaded guilty to 11 offences in relation to an eight-bedroom property at 79 Eaton Crescent in Uplands.
Environmental Health Officers in the Council visited the property following a complaint from a tenant and found the property’s automatic fire detection system was not working.
The house was also suffering from damp and plaster was seen coming away from the walls. Garden waste was also piled up in the rear of the property and no safety certificates were available for gas and electricity supplies.
He was fined a total of £750 and ordered to pay £250 costs along with a £15 surcharge.
Cllr Mark Child, Cabinet Member for Wellbeing in Swansea Council, said: “We will continue to clampdown on landlords that provide sub-standard accommodation for their tenants.
“Residents in Swansea have a right to live in clean and safe accommodation and we will not allow landlords to put tenants at risk.”
In 2009, the Council introduced a licensing scheme for HMOs in Uplands and Castle, regardless of their size.
The scheme has enabled the Council to raise standards in rented accommodation and has resulted in regular prosecutions for landlords breaching the requirements of the licence.
There are around 2,000 HMOs in Swansea with the majority of those in the Castle and Uplands wards.
