bins storage

Maintenance

I should be grateful for some help advice as follows:

We recently, with planning permission, converted a semi detached house into 4 self contained flats. The only access to the rear is via a carpeted common hallway.

Part of the planning permission sited the refuse wheelie bins in the rear garden and required dragging bins up steps and trundling them through the hallway and resulted in great difficulty for some tenants getting them up the steps (heavy bins, strain etc.) and dropping refuse in communal hallway and dirty muddy wheels spoiling / staining carpets.

Tenants are objecting, claiming health and safety issues (what happens if they hurt themselves? , and smells etc., and whilst not being deliberately obstructive they are not co-operating with keeping the bins at the rear and are storing them in the front of the house. We are happy to provide storage discreetly in the front, for the bins, if this would help. All other houses on this road and area store their bins in the front of the houses.

If the Local Council object, is it the tenants' (rate payers) who will be in breach and / or responsible or us the freeholders / landlords to the Council. We can only try and get the tenants to comply.

Can the Council insist that bins be stored at rear, when there is no open access around the outside of the house, and insist the bins are dragged up steps and through the communal areas with the associated droppings and dirty wheels?

I would be very grateful for any help or opinion on this issue.