Property boss says Covid led to maintenance wait after being fined over repair delays
The managing agent of a property management company in Telford says Covid hold-ups led to a delay in repairs to a property in its portfolio.
Maybach Lettings Ltd was fined a total of £5,100 and ordered to pay Telford & Wrekin Council’s full costs of £4,254.32 and a victim surcharge of £190 after the company pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to comply with an improvement notice served under the Housing Act 2004.
Sunny Khaira from Maybach Lettings Ltd said: "It is clear there is a shortage of housing and we pride ourselves in being one of Telford’s best private landlords with repairs carried out within a reasonable time period. Unfortunately due the effect of the pandemic beyond our control we were unable to meet the local authority’s strict policy approach.
The council told the court that there was evidence of rising dampness and poorly maintained windows in the house in Trench following a visit to the property in October 2020.
Mr Khaira said he had had experts to look at the house and they had told him the problem was not rising damp but problems caused by condensation.
"Because of the global pandemic, the backlog of work from the pandemic for contractors, shortage of materials and having difficulty in gaining access to the property the work took longer to carry out than expected."
"The property has had over £10,000 spent on it since the beginning of this tenancy," he said.
Mr Khaira said that this was the first time the company, which had 138 properties, had been to court.
"The vast majority of our tenants are very happy," he said.
The court case, he said, had affected his mental health and the health of his family.
