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Rogue Landlords Hit with £18,000 Fines for Letting Hazardous Property
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
Three rogue landlords have been ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £18,000 for letting a hazardous property in High Wycombe, which had faulty electrics and a lack of fire protection.
Rogue Landlords Hit with £18,000 Fines for Letting Hazardous Property
Noshiba Rehman, Saiqa Bi and Ansar Rehman have been fined for letting the hazardous property in Eaton Avenue, High Wycombe, which posed “significant” fire risks to the tenants, according to officers from Wycombe District Council, who inspected the property in July last year.
The officers found that the tenants were at risk of electrocution at the property, suggesting that there had been “no inspection of the electrical installation for at least five years”.
There was also only one battery-operated smoke detector in the property, no light in the stairwell, while the front door, which had broken glass, was patched up with tape and plywood with a hole next to the lock, making it insecure and offering tenants “no protection against intruders”.
The defendants, who did not attend court, pleaded guilty to all charges and were collectively ordered to pay £18,000.
The fines and costs imposed were as follows:
Noshiba Rehman – Fine of £5,500 in total, victim surcharge of £50 and legal costs of £850.
Saiqa Bi – Fine of £5,000 in total, victim surcharge of £50 and legal costs of £750.
Ansar Rehman – Fine of £5,000 in total, victim surcharge of £50 and legal costs of £750.
Councillor Tony Lee, the Deputy Cabinet Member for Housing at Wycombe District Council, comments on the hazardous property case: “We are determined to clamp down hard on rogue landlords like this. They are callously and consciously exploiting vulnerable people and, in this case, receiving taxpayers’ money through housing benefit paying for rent.
“Sometimes it’s difficult for tenants to stand up to landlords, but we will. Our teams are expert and determined to stop this kind of exploitation happening in Wycombe District. Let this set an example to those landlords who think they will get away with it.”
