Just Who's Doing the Checks?: Rogue Landlord Concerns Grow After Yet Another Hartlepool Property Closure...

12 Elliott Street Hartlepool is linked to a well known town lettings agent

Closure Order Sparks Fresh Questions Over Hartlepool’s Private Rented Sector After Second Property Linked to a Town Lettings Firm is Closed Down.

14th May 2026

Calls are growing for tougher action to be taken against rogue landlords and lettings agents in a North East Town, after community safety chiefs secured a closure order on a privately-rented Hartlepool property linked to crime, drugs and persistent anti-social behaviour.

The three-month closure order was granted by Teesside Magistrates Court in respect of 12 Elliott Street, in the town centre area of Hartlepool, following an application by Hartlepool Borough Council on behalf of the multi-agency Hartlepool Community Safety Team.

The court also awarded costs of £1,655, with the Teesside & Durham Post being one of the first outlets to report on the closure order this week.

A property managed by the same lettings company in Duke Street Hartlepool was closed down by a court order almost a year ago

The case, comes almost a year after a property in Duke Street, Hartlepool, was made subject to a similar order by the courts, with both properties understood to have been linked to drug-related activity and persistent anti-social behaviour.

But, In an investigation undertaken recently, The Teesside & Durham Post discovered that both properties are linked to the same property lettings and management business, Jackson & Copeland Ltd, based in Murray Street, Hartlepool. That connection's prompted wider questions about whether enough is being done by landlords and letting agents before tenants are being placed into properties, and whether stronger checks should be carried out to protect surrounding residents.

The case was heard at Teesside Magistrates Court this week

The court heard that since November 2025, the tenant of 12 Elliott Street had allowed persistent anti-social and criminal behaviour to take place at the address. This included suspected dealing of Class A drugs, with the property said to have seen a constant flow of visitors arriving at all hours of the day and night. Evidence presented to the court detailed how individuals were regularly seen reaching through the property’s letterbox and shouting for drugs. Damage was also caused to the front door. Visitors were also said to have been observed banging on the front of the property and even gaining access through boarded-up windows.

Residents living nearby were said to have been subjected to repeated disturbances, including loud music, arguing, shouting and swearing, often during the early hours of the morning. The court also heard that motorcycles routinely attended the rear of the property at night, with the tenant seen handing over packages to riders. Additional visitors, both on foot and in vehicles, were also noted to be attending the address for very short periods of time.

The order now means the property has effectively been shut down for three months. The maximum penalty for breaching a closure order is six months’ imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.

Tenancy Checks Clearly Are Being 'Overlooked'....

Its claimed even the most basic tenancy checks would have led to the tenants of the most recent closed property never being handed the keys to a home

While the action against 12 Elliott Street has been welcomed in the local community, the case has also raised broader concerns about the private rented sector in Hartlepool, with questions already being asked as to why properties are only being dealt with once they become serious enough to require court intervention, rather than through earlier checks, monitoring and enforcement.

The Teesside & Durham Post understands that both the Elliott Street property and the earlier Duke Street property which was closed down under a similar order nearly a year ago are linked to the local lettings company Jackson & Copeland Ltd, a property rentals and management business operating from Murray Street, just a short distance away from the most recent property which was closed down by the courts..

The company’s filed accounts state that its principal activity is property management, with its registered office listed as 68 Murray Street, Hartlepool, TS26 8PL. Accounts for the year ending 31 March 2025 show the business had net assets of £111,041, up from £68,113 the previous year, while the profit and loss account stood at £110,941.

The same accounts state, rather worryingly, that the average monthly number of employees, including directors, was zero in both 2025 and 2024, despite claims that the business does employ at least two members of staff...

That, in itself, doesn't prove any wrongdoing. However, in the context of serious closure orders being made on properties understood to be connected to the same lettings business, the figures are likely to fuel legitimate public interest questions about the scale of the company’s operations, the level of oversight being provided, and whether sufficient tenancy checks and property management safeguards are in place.

It also raises legitimate questions from some critics who claim local councils are incentivising some local landlords to house 'unruly' tenants that wouldn't normally be able to access the councils social housing register, as the local council struggles to bring down the number of applicants presenting themselves as 'homeless' to the council.

'Fake Reviews Claim'....

There's also claims that the vast majority of the firms online reviews do not provide a full picture of tenant's experience with the property company, with positive reviews appearing to come largely from landlords or those praising the service provided to landlords, while tenant reviews appear non existant.

This is said to be adding to wider concerns about Hartlepool's Private Rented Sector as a whole with the central issue not simply whether a tenant behaved unlawfully or anti-socially. It's whether landlords and letting agents should face greater scrutiny where properties under their management repeatedly become associated with serious crime & court-imposed closure orders.

It should be stated clearly that Many landlords in Hartlepool operate responsibly, but campaigners argue that those who profit from letting homes should also carry a clear responsibility to ensure tenants are properly vetted, complaints acted upon quickly, and neighbouring residents are not left to suffer months of disruption before formal action is taken.

The recent closure order is likely to intensify calls for a town wide Landlord Licensing Scheme to be brought in

The most recent closure order is likely to intensify calls for Hartlepool Borough Council, Cleveland Police and partner agencies to look not only at problem tenants, but also at the property networks behind the problem addresses, as it seems one property company keeps coming up on the radar as being the one seemingly handing out the keys to those causing misery in the local community, whilst they continue to pocket the rent & not a word being said about it.

Anyone who witnesses a breach of the closure order is urged to contact Cleveland Police on 101, or 999 in an emergency. Information can also be passed anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.