A landlord who committed 33 offences at a property he owns has been issued with civil penalties totalling £50,500.
Zaheer Uddin Babar, who owns the property in Northampton, was first contacted by the local council in March 2015 requesting that he license it as a House in Multiple Occupation.
Following five further unactioned requests to apply for the licence, council officials inspected the property under warrant in June 2019 and found several breaches of the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006, and then issued two Improvement Notices as a result.
Among the most serious hazards found at the property were missing handrails and banisters on staircases, a partially collapsed and waterlogged ceiling, a faulty fire alarm and fire door and exposed electrical wires.
A range of other problems were also discovered, including broken external door locks, faulty windows, along with damp and mould, while the kitchen and bathroom were filthy and in a poor state of repair.
Councillor Stephen Hibbert, cabinet member for housing and wellbeing at Northampton councils, says: “The conditions in this property were squalid and hazardous, and posed a real danger to the tenants living there.
“Landlords have a legal responsibility to ensure that properties are clean, safe and in working order for their tenants, and our Housing Enforcement Team will continue to take action against such failings, through their extensive surveillance work and information received from local residents.”
Babar appealed to the First Tier Tribunal which upheld civil penalties totalling £50,500. He has paid £500 against one of the civil penalties and now has 28 days to pay the remaining amount.
Failure to pay will result in the council taking action to recoup the debt, which may include enforced sale of his property.
The council is working with the eight tenants to help them claim back up to 12 months rent from Babar.
We're excited to announce that we're working on building a shiny new website for readers of Landlord Today! As part of this process, commenting on articles will be temporarily disabled. We look forward to sharing our new and improved Landlord Today website with you shortly!
.png)
(1).png)
.jpg)
