Landlord fined for overcrowded property

A buy-to-let landlord has been reprimanded for housing too many people in a rented property in Peterborough

Raashid Alyas, of Mayors Walk in Peterborough, was hit with a £4,000 fine and ordered to pay £910 in other costs and £170 victim surcharge at Peterborough Magistrates' Court after admitting a number of offences relating to a rented property in Occupation Road, PE1, including housing seven people rather than the four that the property was deemed suitable for.

The court heard how Peterborough City Council officers visited the property in March 2016, and discovered a number of dangers in the house, including no smoke alarms, fire hazards surrounding an electric shower and a kitchen light switch, problems with the double glazing and roof insulation.

The landlord was prohibited from renting the property out until the necessary improvements were made.

But by November 2017 the work had not been carried out, and the family was still living at the property, leaving the council with no alternative but to take action.

Peter Bezant, senior housing enforcement officer at Peterborough City Council, said: “We are satisfied with the sentence handed out by the magistrates as this was a serious case which involved a number of offences.

“We will always look to take appropriate action whenever we become aware of any breaches of housing legislation.”

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