Council serve notice on landlord to remove tenants rubbish – Help

I have been served with a notice under the Prevention of damage by Pests Act 1949 by the local council requiring me to remove rubbish from the rear yard of a property that is currently occupied by my tenant.

My issue is that the Council have served the notice on me and not on the tenant who is responsible for putting the rubbish in the yard and the fact that the Council could have just as easily found out the tenants name and served the notice on them. The notice requires me to remove the rubbish within 7 days, disinfect the area and take action to prevent a recurrence.if i do not remove the rubbish within 7 days then the Council will do so and charge me.

I have spoken to the Council and they say that under the Act they have total discretion on who to serve the Notice and it is their policy not to pursue the occupier of the property,(even if they know it is them who are responsible), if there is a landlord they can serve the notice on, they accepted that they knew it was the tenant who would have put the rubbish in the yard and not me yet they chose to serve the notice on me.

This seems unfair and the Council taking the easy way out as usual, does anyone know if the Council have a duty to investigate who is responsible for the rubbish and to take action against them or can they just go after the landlord as they claim.

I am also concerned that having a formal notice served against my name could go against me in the future if, for example, the Council introduced licencing and required me to prove I am a fit and proper person to hold a licence.

Michael