Failure to carry out essential safety works to his tenant’s home has resulted in a hefty fine for a landlord after he ignored an Improvement Notice served by his local authority.

Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council became aware of serious threats to the tenants’ safety and served the Notice on private landlord Steven Boote after he failed to rectify the problems despite having them brought to his attention.

Boote failed to attend a hearing held on 20 October 2008 and was found guilty in his absence. He was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £777.71 in costs plus £25 towards the Victim Support Scheme.

The Chairman of Magistrates said that the fine they were imposing was towards the upper end of the scale to reflect the fact that some of the hazards fell into the most serious category.

They were particularly concerned about the length of time the elderly tenant had been left without heating or hot water.

Matt Grant, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing said: “The Council has a responsibility to ensure that all properties meet minimum standards of health and safety, and do not pose a danger to occupants.

Fortunately, most of our local landlords understand this, comply with the law, and provide decent accommodation.

However, we will not tolerate the few bad landlords who ignore their obligations so we are grateful to the magistrates for imposing a significant fine in this case, which sends out a clear message about the importance of complying with the law.”

The Council’s Head of Environmental Housing, John Hardman added: “We must stress that all landlords must legally provide safe accommodation and we will unhesitatingly resort to law where landlords neglect or ignore their duty.”