A husband and wife have been prosecuted after a house they let in Burntwood was found to be unsafe.
David and Liane Dewsbury, of Main Road, Milford in Stafford, did not attend Stafford Magistrates Court for the hearing relating to their property on Queen Street in Chasetown.
The prosecution came after Lichfield District Council inspected the address on Queen Street which had been subdivided into three units without building regulations approval. It was also found that the property did not have gas or electrical safety certificates, working smoke alarms, or safe routes and windows that allowed escape if there was a fire. The emergency contact details of the person managing the property were also not displayed.
As the landlords did not act on the council’s requests to address these issues, they were served an improvement notice requiring them to make the necessary changes for fire safety. The council referred the matter of the gas safety certificate to the HSE, which in turn issued an improvement notice that required the production of the certificates by a specified date.
On revisiting the property, it was clear the improvement notices had not been acted on. Lichfield District Council and the HSE then started proceedings to prosecute the landlords.
Mrs Dewsbury pleaded guilty by post, but her husband did not and was found guilty of not complying with the improvement notices and failing to comply with management regulations.
During the hearing, the court heard that Mr Dewsbury had been recently declared bankrupt. For failure to comply with the improvement notice for the gas safety certificate, he was fined £2,500, which was reduced to £1,500, and ordered to pay £3,000 towards the HSE’s costs – a total of £4,500.
For failure to comply with the improvement notice for fire safety, Mrs Dewsbury was fined £2,500, also reduced to £1,500, and ordered to pay £1,238 towards the Lichfield District Council’s costs – a total of £2,738.
Councillor Ian Pritchard said: “It’s unacceptable that Mr and Mrs Dewsbury thought they could flout building regulations. As landlords, it is their duty to make sure their property is as safe as possible for their tenants. We hope this case acts as a warning to anyone that thinks they can ignore housing regulations.”
