Landlord who allowed tenants to live in dangerous conditions loses appeal

A landlord who allowed a young family to live in dangerous conditions and was the first to be prosecuted in St Helens under new laws has lost her appeal.

Evelyn Gwyneth Waller, of Conway, North Wales was fined £2,800 and ordered to pay costs of £1,502.42 by St Helens Magistrates in November for non compliance with the Housing Act 2004 Improvement Notice.

Her appeal against the fine was listed at Liverpool Crown Court on 24th January but Waller did not appear at the hearing and was unrepresented.

The judge dismissed the appeal and awarded further costs of £200 to St Helens Council which brought the case to court.

Waller had on 21st November pleaded guilty at St Helens Magistrates' Court to the offence of non compliance with a Housing Act 2004 Improvement Notice served by St Helens Council.

The Judge at Liverpool Crown Court confirmed the fine imposed as £2,800 and with a total of £1,702.45 costs awarded (including the additional £200).  This increased the total to £4,502.45.  

At the original hearing the court heard that the landlord allowed a young family to live in dangerous conditions.

The issue surrounded a property in Clipsley Lane, Haydock where the tenants were a mum and three young children.

The landlord failed to carry out important work on the property despite agreeing to do so.

The Council served an Improvement Notice giving the landlord 10 weeks to start work and six weeks to finish it.

The house was in a very dangerous and deteriorated condition.  In particular there were old and exposed electrical components that could be accessed by children, smashed windows which the children could injure themselves on, lack of central heating over winter and extreme damp.

The conditions were so bad that the tenant and young family were forced to move out.

Councillor Neil Taylor, the Council’s Executive Member for Urban Regeneration said:  “This is the first prosecution under the new Act and sends a very clear signal to landlords that the Council will take enforcement action to improve rented property where necessary.”