A UK landlord could be found negligent after a pregnant woman died last year as a result of his alleged failure to carry out essential repairs on a damp property. The young woman, who was pregnant with her second child, passed away in her sleep following a series of severe chest infections, believed to be as a result of the damp and mould in the property.
The young couple moved into the rental property last August and despite their repeated complaints to the landlord about the sorry state of the property and asking him to sort out the damp issues, nothing was done. Eventually the local council intervened on behalf of the tenants and handed the landlord an environmental health enforcement order asking him to carry out essential repairs necessary to put things right. Once again the landlord failed to do anything and when council environmental health inspectors returned a few weeks later, they discovered no work had been carried out. Sadly the young mother passed away two days after the second visit from the council inspectors.
The young woman’s husband firmly believes his wife died as a result of the excessive damp in the property and the local council is now hoping to prosecute the landlord for his alleged failure to carry out essential repairs. Whether or not they are successful in their case remains to be seen, but the fact remains that the landlord was clearly negligent in not carrying out repairs, whereas if he had done his duty, the young mother might still be alive today.
