A landlord company in County Durham has been fined £42,500 after tenants were found living in unsafe conditions, including sleeping on the floor surrounded by dead rats, mice, human waste and urine.
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Carter Property Services, owned by 59-year-old Glyn Carter, was prosecuted by Durham County Council after officers found repeated breaches of the conditions attached to its selective landlord licence, Landlord Zone reported. The company manages around 300 rental properties.
Peterlee Magistrates Court heard that the company had broken 13 licence conditions across eight rented homes in Shotton, South Hetton, Blackhall Colliery, Peterlee and Seaham. The council said the failures put tenants' health and safety at risk.
Alarm over property
One of the most serious cases came to light after paramedics attended a property in Peterlee. According to the court, three adults were sleeping on the floor in a house surrounded by waste, including dead rats and mice. Paramedics described the property as being covered in faeces and urine, with a strong smell of ammonia.
The investigation found that the property had not been inspected for two years. Its gas safety certificate was also almost four years out of date. Durham County Council told the court that the company failed to meet several conditions required under its selective licensing scheme.
One of the licence conditions requires landlords to inspect rental properties every six months. However, a tenant at a property in Shotton told council officers that no inspection had taken place during the four years they had lived there.
The council also found that Carter Property Services had failed to provide valid gas safety certificates for four properties. Under the licensing rules, landlords must keep these certificates up to date to show that gas appliances are safe.
The court heard that these failures were not limited to one property but were found across eight homes covered by the case.
