Councils continue to clampdown on landlords’ fly tipping

There’s more evidence of councils clamping down on landlords fly tipping - Landlord Today has run a series of reports on this recently, and a new story has come to light now.

Oldham council has prosecuted a landlord after fly-tipped waste was linked to a property he owned.

In November 2019 a large number of bin bags were found in the town, traced back to a rented property address. 

Council officers visited the property and found there were no waste bins. The landlord - Roger Howarth, from Oxfordshire - was told to order the tenants new ones.

During the visit it was also discovered that the electric meter was dangerous and needed to be replaced. Howarth – who was registered with the council under its Selective Licensing Scheme – was told to replace it.

A follow up visit found no bins had been ordered and waste piled up in the rear yard. The electric meter had also not been replaced so officers had to resolve the issue with the energy supplier. A third visit found there were still no bins at the property and waste once again piled high in the back yard.

Now at Manchester Magistrates Court Howarth has found guilty in his absence of breaching section 95(2) of the Housing Act 2004 by not complying with his selective licence conditions.

He has been fined £1,000, with a £100 victim support, plus costs of £1,575 were awarded to the council.

A spokeswoman for the council says: “Oldham has many good landlords, but this case is a warning to those who don’t meet obligations to their tenants that we will take action to make things right - and will prosecute if necessary. It is much more expensive to lose in court than to be a decent landlord.”

The licensing of private rented properties was introduced in 2015 in certain areas of Oldham.

A consultation on extending the scheme finished earlier this year and the outcome will be published soon.

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