Newcastle family rehomed from unsafe house in shocking state

A large section of the ceiling was missing revealing exposed boards and cables

A couple and their nine children have been moved to emergency accommodation after their privately rented house was condemned as "uninhabitable".

The five-bedroom property in Elswick, Newcastle, had no heating or hot water, a rat infestation and was damp with defective windows and leaking pipes.

Newcastle City Council has banned the private landlord from renting the home after he ignored requests to fix it.

In the past year, four such prohibition orders have been served in the city.

The family lived in damp conditions - mould can be seen on the mattress and peeling paintwork

Cabinet Member for Housing and Regulation, Councillor Linda Hobson, said: "This is a shocking example of a landlord failing to fulfil his legal obligations. My heart goes out to the family who lived there and endured appalling living conditions.

"Landlords who fail to maintain basic living standards should be aware that we won't hesitate to step in and use our powers to stop them renting out their properties," she added.

The house had a catalogue of defects including faulty double glazing, missing balusters on the staircase, leaking pipes, holes in the ceiling, damp and mould.

The front and back doors were not secure, there was no hot water in the kitchen and no smoke detector.

An infestation of rats had chewed through cables leaving the family with no heating

The council also found that rats had also gnawed their way through electrical cabling making the electricity supply unsafe and knocking out the heating system.

Two years ago the council extended a property licensing scheme designed to raise living standards in the private rented sector.

More than 50,000 homes in Newcastle are privately rented and about 14,500 require a licence.

Dangerous electrics were found in the house

The family contacted the council in September and after the authority received no replies to notices it served on the landlord for the repairs to be carried out, it issued him with a prohibition order on 1 November.

The council's property licensing manager, Gwen Smith, said: "The property was in significant disrepair and was not habitable for the family...it was in a terrible condition and unsafe.

"I think it's important to point out that this property is in the minority and it isn't very often we serve a prohibition... most landlords in the city manage their properties well."

The landlord cannot rent the property out again until he carries out a refurbishment which meets the local authority's standards.

The council says he could be taken to court and subject to an unlimited fine if he fails to comply.