A landlord who refused to carry out repair work on his property has been prosecuted and fined £2,500, along with a £120 victim surcharge and £670 in costs.
Victor Robbins of Leigh-on-Sea was found guilty in his absence of ignoring an improvement notice on his first floor flat in Westcliff-on-Sea.
Southend council received complaints about damp from the tenants of the property in February. An inspection of the property confirmed it was suffering from severe penetrating damp and excess cold due to a lack of provision of fixed controllable heating. The internal and external stairs were in a hazardous state and the gas boiler had not been serviced for a number of years.
An initial letter highlighting the problems at the property and a request for information was sent to Robbins in March and a further inspection was carried out in June.
In the same month two Improvement Notices were served under the Housing Act 2004 section 11, for excess cold and for fallures associated with stairs and steps. Work was required to be completed by September 15.
However, no work had been completed by the deadline and the case went ahead.
The case has also now been forwarded to the Health and Safety Executive which also has a prosecution case against the landlord for his failure to have the gas appliances at the property serviced within the last 12 months.
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