A rogue landlord has been sentenced to 10-months in prison at Chesterfield Crown Court on Monday 3 April 2023 for the state of his properties on the West Lea Estate in Clowne.

In May 2022, Mr Martin Ambler had pleaded guilty to four counts of breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order and was told to expect to pay a significant amount of compensation and costs.

At the original hearing, Judge Bennett deferred sentencing and ordered Mr Ambler to:

1. instruct housing experts or a management company to inspect and provide a report on all the properties he owns within Bolsover District;
2. cooperate with Bolsover District Council to inspect all properties in his ownership in the area;
3. provide full financial information including any companies to which he is a director and to commit no further offences.

However, since this court appearance the defendant has been in breach of his criminal behaviour order and the Judge’s instructions by not providing the relevant information on a number of conditions that had been set.

For a number of years, Bolsover District Council has been working with residents and landlords on the West Lea Estate in Clowne to help improve the area, which included extensive enforcement actions for rubbish on gardens and the poor conditions of privately rented housing.

During inspections, Council officers found one of Mr Ambler’s properties was infested with rats and due to the major defects found, the rats continued to gain access to the property.