Landlord fined for failing to comply with electrical safety standards

A Coventry landlord has been fined in one of the first cases in England, for failing to comply with Electrical Safety Standards.

Regulations were introduced last year, in order to give local authorities powers to issue fines to landlords who fail to follow Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Sector (England) Regulations 2020.

In addition, Coventry City Council approved amendments to its policy for enforcing standards in the private rented sector, which place duties on landlords to ensure safe electrical installation.

This gives the Council the ability to request reports to understand the condition of the electrical installation and confirm that the landlord is complying with the Regulations.

A recent case led to the Council fining a landlord £1,600. It following concerns about the electrical installations in a property on Stoney Stanton Road.

Despite requesting that the landlord of the property provide an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) to the Council within 7 days – as required under the regulations – the landlord failed to do so.

The landlord should have shown that the electrical installation in the property was safe and a copy provided to the tenant.

The Council will now also be serving a remedial notice requiring further action to be taken.

Adrian Chowns, Property Licensing and Housing Enforcement Manager for, Coventry City Council said: “We believe this is the first time these powers have been used by a Local Authority in England. It highlights how Coventry City Council are taking a proactive approach to enforcement and clamping down on rogue landlords in its city.”

The Council has also applied for its first banning order against a Coventry landlord following a successful prosecution in which he was found guilty of failing to comply with HMO management regulations.

Chowns said: “The landlord has committed multiple offences both recently and in the past, all of which are serious in their nature, and has put multiple tenants at risk of harm.

“We’ve provided lots of advice to the landlord, but he has continued to contravene the law and there are no signs of improvement.”

The Council works with landlords to provide education and advice as part of its Landlord accreditation scheme and landlord forum.

The landlord will be barred from letting out a house or being involved in any aspect of property management, if successful in obtaining a banning order.

If the banning order is breached, penalties can include imprisonment for up to 51 weeks, a court fine or a civil penalty of up to £30,000.

This landlord has also been added to the Rogue Landlord Database.

Davina Blackburn, Strategic Lead for Regulation in the city, said: “Most landlords are decent law-abiding people, however, there is still a minority who continue to show a flagrant disregard for the law and put their tenants at risk and as such the Council will target its enforcement activity against them.”