Birmingham landlord's £15,000 court bill after ignoring damp and mould issues at two Horden homes

Sukhraj Singh Barham also flouted new legislation by failing to apply for selective licences from Durham County Council for the two Horden homes.

Selective licensing aims to improve conditions in the private rented sector and Barham’s prosecution was the first carried out by the council since its introduction.

Council strategic housing manager Lynn Hall welcomed the penalty and said: “We know the vast majority of landlords in County Durham look after their properties and their tenants but selective licensing is there for the minority that don’t.

“That clearly includes Mr Barham whose properties were in really poor condition, one to the point where we took emergency action ourselves out of concern for the health of the tenant.”

The council prosecuted Barham, 35, whose company Front Worth company is based at Pinfold Street, Birmingham, by bringing four charges under the Housing Act.

Peterlee magistrates learned of council concerns in November 2022 for the welfare of a tenant in Seventh Street.

The tenant told the council his rented property had been sold two weeks earlier and he had no contact details for his new landlord.

The property was found to be in a state of disrepair, with no heating or hot water due to the boiler becoming unserviceable and both damp and mould issues.

The council eventually traced Front Worth and sole director Barham.

Amid health concerns, the council also carried out emergency repairs to get the boiler working.

But requests for Barham to carry out further work were ignored.

Magistrates were also told how the council was contacted by the tenant of a property in Tenth Street this April.

Again it had been sold while he was living there and he too had no information about his new landlord.

The property was in a state of disrepair, with the tenant having issues relating to a large damp area on the kitchen wall underneath the bathroom.

Again improvement notices were ignored and the council is currently obtaining quotes to remove damp and mould.

Barham, who was found guilty of all four charges in his absence, was fined £12,600, ordered to pay costs of £1,343.69 and a £2,000 victim surcharge.