THE Liverpool estate agent who once shamed tenants by placing "rent dodger" placards outside their homes has lost its appeal against a conviction for breaching safety regulations at a house in Tuebrook.
Sutton Estates Ltd and its directors Neil Francis Heffey of Moss Lane, Orrell Park, and Dorothy Monk, of Walton Hall Avenue, were fined a total of £12,100, with court costs running into many thousands more.
They were found guilty, in their absence, of 54 safety breaches at Liverpool Magistrates Court in March, 2014
Liverpool Crown Court heard that in September, 2012, city council environmental health officers visited a house, in West Derby Road, which had been converted into six self-contained flats over four floors. At the time, four were occupied.
Gas Safe engineers were immediately called after they found dangerous open gas supply pipes in the two vacant flats, following the removal of a boiler.
In the occupied flats inspectors found problems with unauthorised work on gas central heating boilers, ill-fitting and damaged fire doors, poor internal layout, penetrating dampness and general issues of disrepair which both the landlord and agent had failed to address, despite repeated requests from the tenants.
Elsewhere, the fire alarm system was inoperative and displaced from the wall, the electricity supply had been by-passed to a number of flats and the fire separation between the ground and floors above was compromised due to gaps in the internal structure coupled with poor workmanship.
Neil HeffeySutton Estates Limited, the agents for the property, were fined a total of £5,500 and ordered to pay £1,603 costs. Dorothy Monk was found was fined a total of £1,100 and ordered to pay £1,603 costs. Neil Heffey was fined a total of £5,500 and ordered to pay £3,792.40 costs.
The house owner, David Katz was found guilty of all counts and was fined a total of £3,200 and ordered to pay £1603 costs. He did not appeal against his conviction.
Further costs of £26, 897 were awarded to the city council with an order that the costs would have to be paid individually or collectively should any of the defendants fail to pay.
Bootle-based Sutton Estates hit the headlines in 2008 when it nailed “Rent Dodger” signs outside the homes of Merseyside tenants who had fallen behind with their payments.
“They can avoid us, but not their neighbours. Now, every time they walk in and out of their door, the neighbours will be laughing at them,” Mr Heffey said at the time.
