A Cardiff landlord has been ordered to pay just over £4,500 for failing to rectify faults relating to two flats he owns and rents out in the city. 

Christopher Harper did not attend Cardiff Magistrates’ Court but was convicted in his absence.

This latest case came to light, following Harper’s refusal to comply with legal notices served on him to fix several faults at these rented properties, follows a previous prosecution against him in September last year.

The court heard that the defective fire alarm, inadequate structural fire protection and an insecure front door were still not fixed, and Harper continued to fail to submit gas and electricity certificates for these properties, in line with the licensing requirements.

Councillor Lynda Thorne, cabinet member for communities at Cardiff council, says: “The majority of private sector landlords provide a very good service for their residents, but unfortunately there is a minority that do not.

“When we take these matters to court, we do this to benefit the residents living at these properties, so that the faults identified are fixed and the properties are safe to live.

“This case shows that when we successfully prosecute a private sector landlord, we do follow up these cases to ensure the issues are resolved. In this case, it became clear that Mr Harper wasn’t willing to rectify the faults, so legal notices were served on him. Failure to respond and action these legal notices have resulted him being brought court again and ordered to pay a further £4,500.

“Our officers will continue to act on intelligence that we receive and in this case, we will continue to pursue the landlord until the faults have been rectified.”

Harper was fined a total of £3,000, ordered to pay £360 costs and a victim surcharge of £1,200 for failing to act on the legal notices that were served on him.