Torbay landlords are once again being warned by Torbay Council to ‘comply with the law or risk prosecution’.

The warning follows another recent prosecution brought by Torbay Council against a Torquay landlord, which resulted in her being ordered to pay a total of £4,650 in fines and costs.

The case, which was heard at Torquay Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 11 February 2015, was brought by Torbay Council’s Legal Services and Housing Standards Team.

The case was heard in the absence of Ms Charlotte Kate Pollard of 32 Oxlea Road, Torquay for the offence of failure to comply with an improvement notice served under the Housing Act 2004.

The Magistrates found Ms Pollard guilty of the offence and sentenced her to a fine of £4000 and ordered her to pay costs in the sum of £450 and a victim surcharge of £200.

The contraventions at the properties related to damp conditions, avoidable sewage contamination of a kitchen and excessively cold conditions.

Executive Lead for Housing, Councillor David Thomas, said: “This result is one in a series of successful prosecutions achieved by Torbay Council as part of a continued and targeted effort to pursue those landlords who fail to provide safe and adequate housing for their tenants”.

“We must not tarnish all landlords with the same reputation. The majority of Torbay’s landlords provide a high standard of accommodation for their tenants. The actions and inactions of a minority of landlords leave vulnerable individuals and families living in poor conditions having a negative effect on their health and wellbeing. These properties in turn have a negative effect on their immediate environment and the local community. There are laws to protect tenants from poor housing provision and it is the landlord’s who disregard the law who we will continue to target”.

This is one of a number of prosecutions brought by Torbay Council under the partnership banner of the Rogue Landlords Programme. Whilst led by the council’s Housing Standards Team, it is a supported programme by a group of officers from Devon and Cornwall Police, the Immigration Service and Devon and Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service, in a continued aim to drive up standards of private rented accommodation in Torbay.

Anyone with a concern about the condition of their private rented property, whether you are a landlord or tenant, please contact Torbay Council for advice on telephone 01803 208025 or visit www.torbay.gov.uk/housingstandards. You can also follow the team on Twitter @TorbayNHT.

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