Landlord ordered to pay £32,000 after ‘hazardous’ condition of properties put tenants’ lives at risk
A Shropshire landlord who let tenants live in properties riddled with hazardous electrics, unsafe boilers, mould and no smoke alarms has been told to pay more than £32,000 in fines and court costs.
Telford Magistrates’ Court heard the condition of flats and caravans at The Oakery in Ashford Carbonell, near Ludlow, meant there was a potential risk to life, with problems also identified with heating, drainage and clean water supplies.
Thomas Edward Evans, 84, did not appear at court to answer seven charges of failing to comply with a housing prohibition order, which were proven in his absence.
The case, brought by Shropshire Council, concerned the main house which had been converted into six flats, and a traveller site that had been created on adjacent land – both of which were done without planning permission. Evans himself also lives in a separate property on the site.
Council prosecutor Mike Davies told the court that the authority had not known about the planning breaches until it was too late to take enforcement action.
Housing officers visited the site following a complaint about a faulty boiler in 2017, and were so concerned by what they found that they inspected all the properties, accompanied by gas engineers and electricians.
