A court upheld West Suffolk Council's £7,500 fine on a Thetford Road landlord and said it could have been higher. The repairs finished 82 days late.
A court has upheld a £7,500 fine issued by West Suffolk Council against the landlord of a rented house in Thetford Road, Brandon, and found the penalty could have been higher (West Suffolk Council).
The property had seven electrical defects rated as requiring immediate action, including exposed cables. A mother and her four children were living there.
Brandon is about 14 miles north west of Bury St Edmunds, in the north of the district.
What the inspection found
The council first asked to see the property’s Electrical Installation Condition Report in March 2025. It did so after visiting the house to look into a damp and mould complaint from the tenant.
Every privately rented home in England must have one of these reports, carried out by a qualified electrician at least every five years.
Despite repeated requests, the report did not reach the council until 27 June 2025. It was dated 23 May 2025. It recorded:
- seven code 1 defects, meaning immediate action required to prevent risk of injury, including exposed cables
- 14 code 2 defects, identified as potentially dangerous and requiring urgent action
Under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector Regulations 2020, a landlord has 28 days from the report to complete the remedial work, or to apply for an extension. By the time the council had the report in hand, that deadline had already passed.
What the council did next
The council instructed an electrician to remove the immediate risk itself. On 4 July 2025 it served two notices: an Urgent Remedial Notice covering the work it had already carried out and its cost, and a Remedial Notice requiring the rest.
Five days later the landlord told the council the work would be finished by 4 August 2025. It was finished on 10 September 2025, which the council puts at 82 days after the legal deadline. No application for an extension was ever made.
The council issued the £7,500 fine in November 2025.
The appeal
The landlord company appealed against the level of the fine at a tribunal held at Cambridgeshire County Court. The hearing took place in June.
Its director told the tribunal she had understood that the contractor had put temporary safety measures in place, and believed the immediate risks had been dealt with, which allowed time for the full remedial work to be arranged.
The tribunal also heard from the letting agent that a contractor had been available who could have done the work sooner, but would have charged more.
The court found in favour of the council. It agreed the fine was appropriate and said it could have been higher.
Cllr Richard O’Driscoll, the council’s cabinet member for housing, said the breaches “left a mum and her four children exposed to risk of injury including from electrocution or fire”, and that “the regulations require landlords to treat these hazards far more seriously and swiftly than happened here”.
He added that most landlords “take their responsibilities seriously and address matters within the legal timeframe”.
Who the landlord is
The council names the landlord as Forthbrook Ltd. Companies House records a Forthbrook Limited, company number 04415104, incorporated in April 2002 and still active, whose registered office is in Billericay, Essex, and whose listed business is “other letting and operating of own or leased real estate” (Companies House). The director named by the council is an active director of that company on the register.
The company has a right of appeal against the decision, and nothing here suggests any criminal offence.
What it means for you
If you rent privately in West Suffolk, this case sets out what you are entitled to.
- You can ask to see the EICR. Your landlord must have the electrics inspected at least every five years by a qualified person, and must give you a copy of the report.
- Serious faults must be fixed within 28 days of the report date, or the landlord must apply for an extension. A code 1 defect means immediate action; a code 2 means potentially dangerous.
- The council can step in and do the work itself where the risk is immediate, and recover the cost, as it did here.
- Report it to West Suffolk Council if your landlord will not act. The council’s private sector housing team handled this case from a damp and mould complaint, so it is worth raising anything that concerns you even if you are not sure which rule it falls under. The Private Sector Housing and Environmental Health Team is the one that deals with it (West Suffolk Council).
The fine here was £7,500 for one property. The court’s view that it could have been higher is the part landlords in the district will want to note.
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