Shocking case of property rental firm's open sewer in garden

A property management company has been fined for failing to repair an open sewer in the garden of a rental property.

SRA Property Limited has been prosecuted by Liverpool council under Section 99 of the Building Act 1984 after refusing to fix an exposed drainage system on Russian Drive in the L13 area of the city.

A District Judge described it as ‘essentially an open sewer.’

Council officers were first called to the property in June 2021 following a referral which indicated that a large trench had been dug on the left-hand side of the property which had exposed the drainage system that served the six flats within.

After what the council calls “a lack of cooperation with the company regarding the undertaking of works” a notice under Section 59 of the Building Act 1984 was served in November 2021 requiring SRA Property Limited to repair the drainage system.

But the company failed to do this: as a result the council carried out the work and brought a prosecution against the company.

No representative of SRA Property Limited attended court on 24 March; the firm was found guilty in its absence and was fined £2,500 – the maximum amount for this type of offence - plus costs of £989.79 and a victim surcharge of £190.

Liverpool councillor Sarah Doyle says: “This was a totally unacceptable case of a landlord putting the health of tenants at risk by letting them live in appalling conditions.

“We could not allow the situation to continue, so we have carried out the work and will be pursuing the landlord for the cost, and have also brought a successful prosecution.

“This is yet another reminder of why our new Landlord Licensing scheme launching [today] is so needed, giving us the tools to identify and tackle private rented properties as well as HMOs.

“We are united in our mission to raise standards and improve the city’s neighbourhoods for residents.”