Leeds landlord fined £40,000 for leaving 80-year-old tenant's home 'at serious risk of fire'

Gordon and Sylvia Wellings, from Wetherby, left tenants at a property in Crosby View at serious risk of fire from the basement and at risk of a fall from the stairs, a property tribunal found.

An elderly tenant at another property, also in Crosby View, was also left to endure "a serious lack of heating in her property and a serious risk of fire safety".

The tribunal found that the only reason Mr Wellings left the tenants at risk for more than 18 months was "due to the cost".

The tribunal judge described Mr Wellings' actions as "reprehensible", adding that he "attempted to blame others for his inaction".

Improvement notices were served on Mr and Mrs Wellings by Leeds City Council for both properties in early May 2018.

For the first property, the couple were told to fit fire resistant doors, complete the mains-wired fire detection system and remedy damp and mould, among other improvements.

There was also a danger that a child could fall between levels due to a gap between balustrades.

There were similar issues at the second property, as well as the need for an appropriate heating system.

The couple were told to finish the improvements by mid-July for the first property and were given a month longer for the second, due to the tenant being elderly and the fact she had a lot of property.

Minimal works had been carried by the deadline.

"At various times [Mr Wellings] instructed builders to carry out works but again it is not clear what they were instructed to do or even who they were," the tribunal noted.

When asked why the works had not been completed, Mr Wellings said he was unable to check on progress due to "being away from Leeds on emergency family business".

Mr Wellings also said there were issues with getting full access to the second property and blamed the "Beast from the East" for further delays.

Leeds City Council decided not to prosecute Mr or Mrs Wellings, but instead decided to impose a financial penalty of £33,500 for failing to carry out all the works.

The couple appealed the penalties, stating in regards to the second property: "The council have known from the outset of the difficulty working in a house where the 80-year-old tenant has accumulated possessions over many years preventing access to work areas and creating a hazard to workmen.

"She is pleased with the work that has been done and has said on many occasion that she is content with this and does not want further disturbance.”

They said their contractor had "carried out the majority of work required" at the first property.

The tribunal, which made its determination on February 14 and was overseen by Phillip Barber, Judge of the First-tier Tribunal, rejected Mr and Mrs Wellings' arguments.

They noted: "Mr Wellings has a high degree of culpability in relation to the failure to comply with the terms of the improvement notices.

"As a professional landlord he should be well aware of his responsibility to ensure the health and safety of his tenants and despite this, and for well over 18 months, he has continued to leave these tenants at risk of falls and at a serious risk of injury as a result of fire.

"We find that Mr Wellings’ arguments as to why he has been unable to do the works to be without any reasonable degree of foundation and we are satisfied that the only reason why he failed to comply with the terms of the improvement notices was due to the cost.

"We found his conduct towards the Respondent (Leeds City Council) and his tenants to be reprehensible: these were relatively straight forward works which could have been started and completed within a matter of weeks and certainly within the time given in the notices.

"We are satisfied that Mr Wellings has demonstrated throughout a serious disregard for his professional responsibilities as a landlord and has throughout attempted to blame others for his inaction."

Significant amounts of work were still not completed at the time of the hearing in January.