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Rogue landlord in Birmingham jailed for neglect
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
A rogue landlord from Birmingham has been jailed for a whole host of safety breaches in a four-floor property in Edgbaston.
Cyrus Bassiri was sent to prison for 19 months and told to pay £13,820 following his disregard for health and safety in his rental property.
Greedy
During sentencing at Birmingham Crown Court, Mr Bassiri was described as ‘greedy and cynical’ and was told he put, ‘profit before the safety of tenants’ by Judge Mary Stacey.
The Court heard that two fire alarms in the property did not work and that a fire escape was blocked by a washing machine and display cabinet. What’s more, emergency lighting was fitted incorrectly and a fire door was found to be damaged.
When firefighters raised their concerns with Mr Bassiri, he responded in an ‘aggressive and bullying’ manner.
Exploitation
Judge Mary Stacey told Mr Bassiri, ‘you have been greedy, you have been cynical and you have been exploitative of the occupants of this property in your control. Having failed to address the matters raised by the fire brigade you responded to their attempts to get you to comply with your legal obligations by being aggressive, by bullying behavior, by threatening to take them to court and expose them to the press.’[1]
Previously, 59 year old Bassiri had admitted three counts of failing to adhere to general fire precautions and two of failing to comply with an enforcement notice.
Rogue landlord in Birmingham jailed for neglect
Disregard
Mark Jackson, prosecuting, noted Mr Bassiri had already been handed a six-month suspended sentence for breaches of fire safety regulations in another property in 2012. In addition, a member of the public complained over further disregard to fire safety rules in the property during 2013.
Mohammed Afzal, defending, argued Bassiri had wrongly believed he was the victim of a plot to force him out of the property and there were ‘only three tenants.’ He also claimed Mr Bassiri was, ‘distracted by a business dispute and was under severe pressure.’[1]
Buy-to-let investors should utilise advice for landlords on fire safety before making a purchase.
[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/4/birmingham-landlord-jailed
