A Liverpool landlord has been hit with a fine of almost £14,000 for allowing tenants to live in a “house of horrors”.

Roach Estates and Property Management Ltd, and directors Phillip Range and David Kellard, were found guilty at Liverpool Crown Court of non-compliance with an Improvement Notice.

The council’s private sector housing service discovered serious issues at the property on Goodison Road in Walton in July 2023, including damp and mould, a leaking roof, broken gutters, structural collapse, exposed wiring, an open fuse box with live wiring and an intermittent electrical supply and defective fire door. The kitchen ceiling has since collapsed.

The landlord was served with an Improvement Notice and ordered to resolve the issues by February 2024, however an inspection a month later found it had not done so, and that some of the hazards had deteriorated further.

Slum conditions

District Judge Wendy Lloyd described them as “slum” conditions and handed down fines totalling £13,867.

Cabinet member for housing, councillor Sam East (pictured), says: “This has truly been a house of horrors for the tenants, who have endured terrible conditions.”

He adds: “I am pleased that the landlord has been hit hard in the pocket for their negligence in failing to ensure that the property was of a decent standard. This is exactly the type of issue that our landlord licensing scheme is designed to tackle, and it sends out a strong message to the sector that we will not tolerate this type of behaviour.”

Liverpool City Council brought 33 prosecutions against landlords last year, with fines totalling £342,584 handed down. It also issued 11 civil penalty notices, with fines totalling £59,862.

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