A mouldy and damp house in South Derbyshire was deemed “grossly unfit for human habitation” after children were forced to flush a broken toilet with a bucket of water.
A single mother and her two children were living in the house since 2012.
Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court heard the property had no hot water, the toilet did not flush, the sink had collapsed, had no heating and mould and damp.
The landlord Jaspal Singh has been taken to court over the state of the property.
Singh pleaded guilty to failing to comply with an improvement notice issued by South Derbyshire District Council to make urgent repairs to the house by February 4, 2019.
Singh, however, maintains that the tenant had “not once” gone to him to complain about the condition of the property. He clams would have rectified the problems if he was aware of them.
Singh was fined £10,000 and he will also have to pay £5,000 court costs and £170 victim surcharge.
Speaking after the court hearing, Singh said, “I am very sad that this case has come to this conclusion.
“If the tenant had come to me and complained and raised the issues with the property I 100 per cent would have dealt with it.
“The house is now fully let and it is fully decorated with all the repairs done.”
