A landlord has been fined £5,000 following housing safety investigation.
Tandridge District Council’s Environmental Health team has successfully issued two fixed penalty notices totalling £5,000 after failing to comply with housing safety and energy efficiency requirements.
The fixed penalties were issued to Mr Ashraf Talukder, owner of the flat above 64 High Street, Lingfield, RH7 6AA, following an investigation into concerns about property conditions and legal compliance.
Investigations carried out in 2025 found the flat above business premises was occupied by three people and officers identified serious hazards during the inspection.
The owner did not engage with the Council and as a result an improvement notice was served in October 2025. A further inspection was carried out to check compliance, which found some issues had been addressed while a number remained outstanding.
These included:
- Lack of fire precautions.
- Electrics in poor condition.
- Windows either incapable of being opened or opening without restriction.
- Absence of a fully functioning kitchen.
A £3,000 fine was issued due to ongoing health and safety risks after the owner failed to rectify some of the issues outlined in the improvement notice.
An additional fine of £2,000 was issued for letting the property without a valid Energy Performance Certificate, which is an offence.
Councillor Deb Shiner, Chair of Community Services, said: “We work with landlords to help them understand and meet their legal responsibilities, but where serious hazards are identified and improvement notices are ignored, we will take formal enforcement action. This case demonstrates our commitment to protecting residents from unsafe housing and holding landlords to account.”