A landlord has been forced to hand over his property to a local council after an inspection revealed a number of people living in unsafe conditions.

Councils rarely exercise their powers to take over the management of a private rented property.

In this case, Aylesbury Vale District Council in Buckinghamshire has issued an interim management order against the landlord and taken over the management of a large house in the town centre – in order to protect the health, safety and welfare of the occupants, it says.

An inspection by environmental health officers found that the property had a defective fire alarm, deficient fire doors, defective electrics and emergency lighting, the central heating was not working and the kitchen and bath/shower room provisions were inadequate.

These problems had first been identified in March 2013 when the council issued a prohibition order to the landlord which prohibited residential occupation of the house until the necessary improvements had been made.

A recent council inspection discovered that the property had been reoccupied since August 2014 and that 13 people, including eight children, were living there property. The health and safety hazards had not been remedied and it was not licensed as an HMO

The new order makes the council landlord of the property and responsible for collecting rents and carrying out urgent safety works. The landlord is paid any rent left after the council has charged for management and repair costs.

Cllr Sir Beville Stanier, cabinet member for environment and health, said: “At the very least, tenants have the right to expect that the accommodation they are renting is safe. If a landlord doesn’t play by the rules then we will take over the property if we have to.”