COVENTRY has become the first council in England to fine a landlord £1,600 for failing to comply with electrical safety standards.
The penalty came after concerns were raised about the electric installations at a property on Stoney Stanton Road.
The landlord failed to submit an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) to the council within seven days after it was requested.
The report should have been completed by a qualified electrician to show the property’s installation was safe on or around the April 1 2020.
A copy of the report should also have been given to the tenant.
The council will now serve a remedial notice so further action will be taken.
The new regulations, introduced last year, give local authorities powers to issue fines to landlords who failed to follow standards set in the Private Sector (England) Regulations 2020.
The council approved amendments to the Policy for Enforcing Standards in the Private Rented Sector (PRS) including new powers which put more duties on landlords to ensure electrical installations in their properties were safe.
Reports can be requested following a property inspection to ensure the landlord is complying with electrical instillation regulations.
Coventry City Council’s Property Licensing and Housing Enforcement Manager Adrian Chowns 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 is 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 found guilty of failing to comply with HMO management regulations.
He has been added to the Rogue Landlord Database and if the banning order application is successful he will be barred from letting a house or getting involved with any aspect of property management.
If this banning order is breached, the landlord could face 51 weeks in prison, a court fine or civil penalty of up to £30,000.
Davina Blackburn, the city’s strategic lead for regulation, said most landlords were law-abiding but warned the council would take enforcement action against the minority who showed a ‘flagrant disregard for the law and put tenants at risk’.
