Council fines landlord over rat infestation
News Category: Legal
Published: 02-Oct-2008
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An Oxford landlord has been fined hundreds of pounds after a property became infested with rats.
Aslam Javid Dogar was fined £365 and handed a £112.10 repair bill by Oxford City Council after Oxford Magistrates Court ruled that he had failed to comply with a notice issued under the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act.
The infestation at the property in Cardwell Crescent, Headington, was discovered by environmental health officers, with rats able to climb into the cavity wall after an extension was built over a nearby drain.
Mr Dogar was issued an improvement notice but was found to have failed to take any action when the officers revisited the property a month later.
An unnamed man told the Oxford Mail: "It has been pretty bad. We kept seeing them out the back of the house and finding dead ones on the grass.
"It was a worry. Besides the effects they canhave on your health, they're also a real danger to properties and people were quite concerned."
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