A LANDLORD who threatened his vulnerable tenant with eviction must pay nearly £4,000 in fines and costs.

Michael Farrar, 57, failed to comply with improvement notices for a vulnerable tenant and threatened to evict her if the improvements were too costly, a court heard.

Farrar of High Street, Airmyn, near Howden, pleaded guilty by post to the non-compliance of a Housing Act notice served under sections 11 and 12 of the Housing Act 2004.

His case was held at Hull Magistrates’ Court on Friday (August 20). The case was brought to court by East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s private sector housing team following a complaint in December 2019 from a tenant living in a property at Pasture Road in Goole.

An inspection was undertaken in January 2020 following a complaint the tenant had made to the council of disrepair at 45a Pasture Road, Goole.

The council say the property is a one bedroom first floor flat above a food shop and numerous hazards were identified during an inspection including excess cold, with an insufficient heating system and a window that was difficult to close and the lack of a necessary fire escape window from the bedroom, as well as a lack of the required interlinked alarm system and no evidence of sufficient fire protection from the commercial property below.

Farrar failed to provide a timescale to undertake the necessary repairs despite repeated requests, he also threatened to evict the tenant if the work was too expensive. With the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic, he then used this as a reason not to send contractors to the property because of the tenant’s ill health.

Farrar was fined a total of £2,000, has to pay a victim surcharge of £190 and full costs of £1,709.70. A total of £3,899.70.

Chris Dunnachie, private sector housing manager at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “Officers had on several occasions informed Farrar that he needed to make essential legal repairs to the property which he chose to ignore.

“This is a timely reminder to landlords of their responsibilities to ensure their properties are safe and kept in good order to prevent potential harm to tenants and their families and ultimately prevent the necessity of enforcement action.”