A Hitchin landlord has been ordered to pay more than £1,300 after failing to provide heating for tenants.

Jane Cleverly pleaded guilty to not taking adequate steps to provide a fixed heating system for a number of tenants who lived in the flat she rented in the town’s Heathfield Road.

Her tenants who were left in the cold included a young couple who were renting their first home, and a woman recuperating after having surgery.

Ms Cleverly, of Pirton Road, appeared at Stevenage Magistrates’ Court this month where she cited ‘financial difficulty’ as the reason for her negligence.

She was fined £500 and ordered to pay further costs of a £50 victim surcharge, as well as £794.57 towards North Herts District Council council’s legal fees – in what was the first prosecution of its kind by the authority.

Councillor Bernard Lovewell, responsible for housing and environmental health at the district council, said: “Landlords have a responsibility to keep their properties safe and free from health hazards and tenants have a right to live in a property that is safe and in a good state of repair.

“We hope this prosecution sends a clear message to private landlords in North Hertfordshire – the council will use enforcement powers whenever necessary to ensure the welfare and safety of our residents.”