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Helping landlords to keep their tenants warm this winter

Doncaster's private landlords are being asked to check boilers in their properties to ensure their tenants are kept warm this winter.

The request comes after one private tenant was left in the cold - without heating and hot water - for six weeks after her gas boiler broke down.  

Angela Davies, who lives in a terraced home in the town centre, also did not have an immersion heater in her property – meaning she had to visit her daughter daily for a bath.

 

Despite telling her private landlord, she wasn’t getting any action, so she got in touch with Doncaster Council’s Private Sector Housing team.

Angela said: “When the boiler broke down I tried getting help from my landlord but the repair work wasn’t getting done. I visited Doncaster Council for help and the issue was resolved within two weeks.”

Private landlords have responsibilities to their tenants and if they do not carry out repairs, such as replacing broken boilers, the council can step in to ensure the work is carried out.

The council negotiates with the landlord, and if the repair is still not carried out it can serve an Enforcement Notice on them to get the work done. If the landlord doesn’t co-operate, the council can either get the work done themselves and then recharge the landlord or prosecute the landlord.

In the last 12 months, the Private Sector Housing team has dealt with 530 complaints about private landlords not carrying out a range of repairs – which on average is over 10 per week. Complaints about housing conditions increase over the winter months.

Cllr Ray Mullis, Cabinet member for housing, said: “Initially private tenants have to contact their landlord, but if they find they are not getting essential repairs carried out, they should give our Private Sector Housing team a ring.”

Martin Wilcock, the Council’s Private Sector Housing Manager, added: “It is important that landlords service their boilers. This should be done at least annually and especially before the onset of winter. A landlords’ gas safety certificate is also required.

“If a landlord has a large property portfolio it also makes sense for them to have the same boilers in all of the homes and to store a spare one. It then makes it easier for them to get heating and hot water reinstated quickly – the removed boiler can then be repaired over a period of time and be available for the next breakdown”

Cllr Mullis added: ‘’We are extremely keen to work proactively and in partnership with private landlords to find ways that Doncaster Council can help them to improve standards in the private rented sector and grow the number of affordable private rented homes in the borough, but for those who refuse to take their legal responsibilities seriously then we will use our enforcement powers if necessary’’

The Council’s Private Sector Housing team can be contacted on 01302 862016