A lettings agency director and landlord who owned a rental property in Colchester, Essex has been fined nearly £9,000 after the local authority discovered a single mother and her four children living in appalling conditions.

Landlord Simon Weir, who is a director of local three-branch firm Michaels Property Consultants Ltd based in Colchester (pictured, right) which managed the house, was prosecuted after failing to carry out repairs to the property and, when the tenant complained about flooding in upstairs rooms and extreme cold to the local council, tried to evict her.

During the court hearing, she revealed that her children would be taken to bed at 6pm because the the downstairs rooms were as so cold, and that she was afraid to use the upstairs lights because rain was pouring in through a loft hatch.

She had been reporting defects within the property on Wimpole Road to Weir and his letting agency since late 2015 but, facing another winter in the property, she alerted Colchester Borough Council.

It then served a Housing Act Improvement Notice on the property, requiring several problems to be resolved including the leaking roof, a defective chimney and work on insulating the property.

The letting agency said it could not undertake any work while there was a tenant in the property but failed to offer her any alternative accommodation, the court heard, and after a four-month limit passed, the case was referred to Colchester Magistrate’s Court.

“We expect landlords and letting agents to follow their own industry guidance which requires them to let homes that are safe and deal quickly with any problems that arise,” says Councillor Tina Bourne, the council’s Portfolio Holder for Housing and Communities (pictured, left).

“This case shows that the Council will not tolerate poor management practices or poor housing conditions that make residents’ lives a misery and put them at risk of becoming homeless.”

Weir was fined £5,000 plus costs of £3,700 and a £170 victim surcharge.