A landlord has been given a £20,000 fine for failing to carry-out badly needed repairs on a property in Lancashire. 

The fixed penalty was issued by Pendle council under the Housing and Planning Act 2016. 

The landlord was served with improvement notices in October 2022 following an inspection earlier in the month when several serious hazards were found. Another visit in January 2023 confirmed that the landlord had done no repairs.

All contact was ignored so the council stepped in to ensure work was done to make the property safe and remove any health risks.

Repairs needed included a toilet leaking into the kitchen which was of imminent risk to the health of the tenant. Other repairs included a large hole in the kitchen ceiling, broken kitchen sink, taps and waste pipe and leaking radiators. The property also needed a new gas boiler.

There was already an outstanding debt of £5,000 on the property from 2016 after an inspection in 2015 had also found serious hazards.   Improvement notices were served at that time and ignored by the landlord, so the council arranged extensive repairs.

Pendle authority leader Councillor Asjad Mahmood says: “It’s so important that landlords fulfil their duty to maintain their properties to ensure they are in a decent, healthy and safe condition for their tenants. 

“The majority of Pendle landlords do provide good quality housing but unfortunately, there are some that don’t and in these instances, action is taken against them.

“This landlord repeatedly ignored our improvement notices allowing the property to fall into a terrible state.”