How a 84-Year-Old Landlord Was Fined for £32,000
Back in September a landlord was fined the grand total of £32,000 for allowing tenants to live and sleep in unsafe properties.
What happened?!
84-year-old Thomas Evans is the owner of land known as the Oakery near Ludlow. The Oakery site consists of one main house, split into six flats, plus a travellers’ site made up of 10 plots.
As of August 2023, flats in Shropshire were renting for £878 per month. So far, so lucrative for Thomas.
But unfortunately, Thomas chose to ignore orders from the council to improve the safety of his properties. The flats were converted without planning permission, as was the traveller’s site. The state of the properties was so appalling that investigators deemed them a risk to life.
What were the problems with the property?
Well, the problems were pretty numerous, with problems including:
There were several category one hazards. A category one hazard is a hazard that can result in the most serious harm including: permanent paralysis, permanent loss of consciousness, loss of a limb or serious fractures and yes – even death.
You probably won’t be surprised to hear that there were also a number of category two hazards for tenants to contend with. While not quite as life threatening as a category one, category two is still enough to get you fined!
How was he caught?
Given the level of damage and danger in the properties, how was he able to get away with it for so long? How was he finally caught out?
Well, way back in 2017, Shropshire Council received a complaint about a defective boiler/log burner. When the complaint was investigated, the other hazards were spotted including issues with electrical installations, incorrectly installed solid fuel appliances (which can cause carbon monoxide poisoning!) and a lack of hot water.
It’s likely that the fine would have come a lot sooner for Mr Evans, had the pandemic not caused major delays in investigation and charges.
Evans was issued with an improvement notice and ordered to fix his properties – or else.
But Mr Evans seemed to be unbothered by the demands of the local council and subsequent inspections found that no progress at all had been made or was being made to undertake the necessary work required to make the properties safe and habitable.
In fact, by November 2022, conditions had deteriorated further, so Prohibition Orders were issued in March 2023. The orders related to:
- Sanitation
- Drainage
- Heating
- Carbon monoxide
- Fire safety
- Drinking water
- Damp
- Mould
Any one of these posed serious health risk for the tenants living at the Oakery, but the combination is shocking.
What’s the financial damage for the landlord?
The financial impact on the landlord is obviously and understandably huge. On Monday 18th September at Telford Magistrates Court, Thomas Evans was found to be in contravention of seven prohibition orders.
Here’s how his fine breaks down:
- £3,500 for each of the seven offences = £24,500
- Victim’s surcharge of £2,000 = £26,500
- Costs of £5,507.83 = £32,007.83
Mr Evans had 28 days to pay the fine and the Court also ordered a recurring penalty of £20 per day for each continuing breach.
Landlords like Mr Evans hit the news BECAUSE they are the exception, rather than the rule. There are very few landlords who would allow their properties to ever get into such a drastic and dangerous state of disrepair.
