Landlord handed £1k fine after leaving his house a tip
BROKEN WINDOWS AND PILES OF RUBBISH EVERYWHERE
A LANDLORD has been fined after allowing his vacant Newcastle property to become an eyesore.
Residents in Gosforth made repeated complaints about the state of Christopher Cleghorn’s house on Salters Road.
They reported broken windows, overgrown gardens, broken fencing and piles of rubbish built up around the property.
Newcastle City Council’s Public Protection and Neighbourhoods team visited the property and served Cleghorn with notices to repair the house, but he failed to comply and allowed the property to deteriorate.
Now Cleghorn has been fined after pleading guilty to an offence under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 at Newcastle Magistrates Court.
He was fined £1,000, ordered to pay £467 in costs, and made subject to a remedial order requiring him to carry out the work as previously instructed.
Coun Nick Kemp, Newcastle City Council Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “This prosecution shows that landlords cannot flout regulations which exist to help residents and neighbourhoods.
“This vacant property was left unkempt, had a stockpile of rubbish creating a nuisance for neighbouring residents and became a beacon for anti-social behaviour in the area.
“Landlords have a responsibility to maintain standards at their properties. Our Public Protection and Neighbourhoods team made every effort to contact this landlord and gave him ample opportunity to act before legal action was brought.
“His continued refusal to sort this mess out and his subsequent prosecution should serve as a warning to all other landlords in the city.”