Rogue Kirklees landlords could face £30,000 fines for safety breaches

Kirklees Council has embraced housing enforcement legislation and beefed up its policy on housing-related offences.

That means private landlords who allow their properties to be overcrowded or who fail to comply with improvement notices could be slapped with a fine of up to £30,000.

Failing to install smoke alarms can lead to a £1,000 fine – and £5,000 for subsequent breaches.

Landlords who let private properties that are not energy efficient may also face fines of up to £5,000 per property.

And landlords must ensure national standards for electrical safety are met and that their rented properties are inspected and tested by a qualified and competent person every five years.

A copy of the inspection report should be supplied to the tenant.

Failure to do so could also be met with a £30,000 fine.

The civil penalties are an alternative to prosecution in England.

A report to the council’s decision-making Cabinet said the authority’s Civil Penalty Policy “is intended to prevent the small number of rogue or criminal landlords, property managers or letting agents from profiting from renting out unsafe and substandard accommodation and [to] deter others from undertaking such activities.”

In proposing the report to Cabinet senior councillor Cathy Scott (Lab, Dewsbury East) said the council was “committed to driving up standards in the private rental sector.”

And she warned that some people were falling victim to letting services that were using virtual walk-through videos to present properties to unwitting clients.

She warned: “They are not the actual properties that they’re getting. I had one yesterday that was ready to move in. [The renters] were signing up and when they arrived it was full of damp. It had a leak in its roof and smashed windows.

“The reason why these policies are so important is that we have got to crack down on these unscrupulous people that are renting properties. It’s about protecting the general public.”