Glasgow landlord warned after inspection discovers cockroach infestation and exposed wiring

A Glasgow landlord has been warned by the council after an inspection discovered several problems including a “cockroach infestation” and exposed wiring.

The city’s licensing committee issued Abaigeal Bennett with a warning over the future management of her Woodside flat.

Officers reported the house in multiple occupation (HMO) property needed exposed areas in the kitchen to be sealed or finished which would “assist in tackling the ongoing cockroach infestation mentioned by the tenants”.

They added the oven door on the “unstable” gas cooker was “defective” and the extraction hood was “loose” with wiring “exposed”. A kitchen cupboard was also loose.

The carbon monoxide detector needed to be wall mounted, the report by officials continued, and copies of tenancy agreements, the gas safety certificate, portable appliance testing and an emergency contact sheet were required.

Council staff inspected the flat in September 2021 and all issues have now been resolved after a property management company was employed to work on behalf of the landlord.

Licensing chiefs agreed to extend the landlord’s HMO licence for the property on Baliol Street for a restricted period of one year rather than the three years requested.

They also agreed to vary the licence to allow five tenants and an extra bedroom instead of the current four inhabitants.

Carolanne Waters, representing Bennett, said the landlord had lived in the flat during her time at university and was now renting it out but, as it was her first HMO, she was “maybe a bit naïve in managing the property”.

Waters, who is now managing the property, said the issues have now been sorted, adding: “HMOs are a different beast when it comes to managing, there’s so many conditions, so many certificates that are required. It needs to be a professional body that is doing it.”

A council official said all matters had been addressed by August 2 this year and there have been “no complaints received previously about the property”.

Licensing committee chairman, councillor Alex Wilson, said employing a property management firm was “the best thing she could have done”. “She clearly didn’t have her eye completely on the ball when it came to the property.”

Councillor Jim Kavanagh said the applicant’s inexperience wasn’t an excuse as “the landlord is still picking up their money at the end of the month”.

Two more landlords were warned over their future management of properties due to issues uncovered during inspections.

Sundeep Singh Purewal was granted a three-year HMO licence for a flat at 48 Carnarvon Street but also received a warning after an inspection in November last year found condensation mould needed to be cleaned and the bathroom repainted.

Enterprise Properties also received a three-year licence for a flat at 24 Bank Street but the firm was warned as at the time of inspection, in September last year, the lock on the flat door was “ineffective” and the carbon monoxide detector had not been “wall mounted in line with the manufacturer’s instructions”.

Waters, representing the applicant, said the property had been undergoing a renovation when the inspection took place.