The courts have clamped down hard on two landlords who let out sub-standard accommodation.
Naeem Ahmad, of Braunton, Devon, let out a property in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, but allowed it to fall into disrepair.
There were dangerous electric sockets in a child’s bedroom, damp and mould, and doors hanging off hinges. There was also an unsafe gas connection to the cooker, no locks on the front or back doors, and no safety catches on any bedroom windows.
Some of the faults were fixed under emergency remedial action with improvement notices served on Ahmad to fix the rest. However, he failed to carry out any of the work within the timescales.
He was ordered to pay more than £10,000 in fines and costs by Wycombe magistrates.
The sum consisted of a fine of £5,500, with costs of £5,000 awarded to the council and a £200 victim surcharge.
In a separate case, a landlord who let a property without any hot water, in Kensal Green, London, to a single parent with a young child was fined £3,277.
The family had to be rehoused by Brent Council after Bernard McGowan ignored a notice ordering him to repair the boiler.
Comments (3)
So why would anyone move in to a house with no hot water? No locks and doors of their hinges? I do not condone anyone letting a property is such a state but why would anyone want to rent them? If they do are they not part of the problem? Do doors just fall off hinges or was there abuse by the tenants? I have some difficulty in understanding some of these stories. They do not always seem to make sense to me.
You are right doors don’t fall off on their own and why would anyone want to rent them in that condition? Some tenants are desperate for a roof and these type of landlords are seen to pray on the vulnerable and take the money with little regard. After all the tenant has paid them rent, so it is not as if the landlord hasn’t had money to do the work. These landlords should be banned for life.
So that’s all good then. What happens when Mr Ahmed defaults on the 10k fine?