A council has warned private landlords that they will be fined if their tenants don’t dispose of waste responsibility.

Sefton Council says landlords must make “proper arrangements for their tenants to store refuse until the designated collection day” and that if a tenant fly-tips the landlord could face Fixed Penalty Notices of up to £400 or an unlimited fine.

The council recently issued a local resident with a fixed penalty notice and around 15 more cases relating to refuse not being disposed of properly, are being processed.

“Many landlords are required under their licences to provide support to tenants. This may include external storage areas for rubbish, wheelie bins or, in some areas, refuse sacks, as well as ensuring tenants are aware of when collections take place” says a Sefton council statement.

Peter Harvey, the councillor in charge of cleaning, says: “I have said before – fly-tipping is selfish, anti-social, potentially hazardous, and illegal. We will not tolerate it in Sefton, and we will come after culprits, and this includes landlords not meeting their requirements to their tenants and to the borough.

“We have recently issued a £400 Fixed Penalty Notice to a woman found to be responsible for a recent fly-tipping incident and there are further 15 similar, possible cases in the pipeline, so more people may soon be getting an unwelcome surprise visit from our Enforcement team and facing a hefty fine.

“I hope this makes clear that whoever you are, Sefton council will not tolerate fly-tipping and if we identify that you are responsible for it, we will come after you.”

A statement from the council concludes: “Anyone, including landlords, has a duty of care with respects to the disposal of their waste.”