Landlady fined for dangerous living conditions

The woman, from North Wales, did not appear before St. Helens Magistrates on November 21 but did enter a guilty plea by post for non-compliance with the Housing Act 2004 Improvement Notice.  She was fined £400 and ordered to pay costs of £1,502.45.

The court heard that 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 under Section 11 of the Housing Act 2004 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 and lack of central heating over winter months and extreme damp.

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