Rogue landlord ignored Improvement Notice

A landlord has been given a suspended prison sentence and electronically tagged after she put tenants’ lives at risk at a property in Kent.

Sevenoaks Magistrates Court heard that Dawn Holliday, 62, refused to undertake gas safety checks at a property in Eastchurch even after HSE had taken enforcement action by giving her an Improvement Notice.

Her tenants had what the court heard described as a very temperamental boiler that banged and often left them with no heating or hot water, as well as a condemned cooker.

She ignored the Improvement Notice to undertake gas safety checks, as well as other requests from HSE. Ms Holliday claimed to have no money to carry out maintenance to the property. She also said the tenants had moved out and had not been paying rent but the investigation found this claim to be untrue. HSE found that Ms Holliday was receiving full rent from the tenant.

Dawn Holliday, from Minster on Sea, pleaded guilty to three charges under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 Section 21, and the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998 36(2) and 36(3). She was given a prison sentence of 26 weeks, suspended for 12 months. The judge imposed an electronically monitored curfew on Ms Holliday at her address between 8pm and 6am for four months and ordered her to pay £750 in costs to HSE. A remediation order was made for her to undertake the gas safety inspection required of her.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Joanne Williams said: “We are dedicated to ensuring that landlords operate within the law and provide safe accommodation for tenants.

“We do not tolerate disregard for health and safety and consider the non-compliance of HSE enforcement notices as a serious offence.

“In this case, Ms Holliday chose to flagrantly ignore the support, guidance and warnings from HSE to assist her in compliance with the law and continued placing her tenants at serious risk of injury or even death.”