Husband and wife landlords have been ordered to pay £27,000 by the court after admitting to 30 offences between them.

It was deemed by a judge at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court that Robin and Susan Kirstein, of Berkley Avenue in Greenford, west London, were renting out flats which were not “fit for human habitation”.

Hillingdon Council said the flats in Northwood “failed to meet basic safety requirements” and were “littered with hazards”.

The court was told that the four-storey building in The Broadway, divided into three flats and a shop, first came to the council’s attention in July 2020 during an inspection.

Officers discovered an infestation of flies and maggots after a leaky pipe caused raw sewage to build up outside the property.

The court also heard that the building had mould, no lighting, no heating, missing door handles, windows that did not open, missing stair handrails and broken smoke alarms.

The council decided to escalate the matter and act to clampdown on the landlords after they failed to comply with improvements notices issued by the local authority.

It transpired that the landlords also refused a council request to provide copies of their lease, tenancy agreements, details of the management arrangements for the property, and gas and electrical certificates.

During sentencing, District Judge Wright told the pair that they had “turned a blind eye to their responsibilities” by providing flats that were not “fit for human habitation”.

Mr Kirstein, 55, admitted to 13 offences, including poor management of the property, lack of adequate waste facilities, lack of fire precautions and failure to provide information.

Mrs Kirstein, 60, admitted to 17 offences, including failure to carry out works to the property and failure to carry out drainage works to ensure sanitary conditions.

The couple were fined £17,000 and ordered to pay Hillingdon Council’s prosecution costs of more than £10,000.

Cllr Eddie Lavery, Hillingdon Council’s cabinet member for environment, housing and regeneration, commented: “This couple showed scant regard for the welfare of tenants who should quite rightly have an expectation of living somewhere that meets decent standards.

“This property not only fell well below that mark but was riddled with hazards and dangers that could have proved disastrous.

“This sentencing serves as a warning to any rogue landlords that we’ll take tough measures to ensure homes in our borough are safe and suitable for the tenants.”