A rogue landlord in West London has been fined over £60,000 after renting a dangerous flat out to a mother and her young son.

A report by Richmond Council revealed the bathroom ceiling had collapsed due to damp plaster.

The council received the complaint on March 4, 2019 from a tenant living in one of the landlord's flats in Twickenham.

Several damaged items were found in the flat while inspections took place. In May 2019, the landlord was told to begin fixing the issues no later than July 3, 2019 and to complete all the works within two weeks from that date.  More inspections took place in August 2019, where one of the flats had a collapsed bathroom ceiling due to damp plaster, making the only bathroom unusable. The inspection of the other flat revealed that no improvement work had taken place. The landlord has not responded to any of the council's requests so the authority took him to court. The landlord has received a fine of over £60,000. Richmond Council has applied for a rent repayment order to claim back all housing allowance paid for the last 12 months and the hearing at the tribunal will take place in the New Year.    Cllr Jim Millard, spokesperson for housing at Richmond Council, said: "The council's private sector housing team works hard to hold landlords and letting agents to account. "It's a key part of improving the borough's housing standards and we are pleased with the outcome of this investigation.   "We encourage residents who might be experiencing issues to contact us. Rogue landlords should take notice that the council will not hesitate to act when it comes to sub-standard housing."