'House of hazards' landlords fined after council forced to evacuate tenants » Housing » 24dash.com

Two landlords have been fined £1,200 each after allowing their property to deteriorate to such an extent that Leeds City Council had to evacuate the tenants – despite the pair receiving £21,000 in housing benefits.

At Leeds Magistrates Court yesterday, Mohammed Osman of 5 View Road, Keighley, and Razwan Rafiq of 31 Victoria Park View, Keighley, pleaded guilty to breaches of a House in Multiple Occupancy (HMO) Licence for their property at 23 Colwyn Road, Beeston. They were fined £500 each and ordered to each pay £750 costs.

It is the first time Leeds City Council has successfully prosecuted a landlord over breaches of their HMO licence, which were established in 2006 to drive up standards in the city’s private rented property.

The pair bought the back-to-back property in an auction in August last year – which was being let to vulnerable tenants, some of whom suffered from drink-related problems.

They applied for a House in Multiple Occupation licence but when the property was inspected last December it was found to be in a very poor condition, with no fire prevention measures or smoke alarms, concerns over the wiring and electrical appliances, insufficient heating, very poor and inadequate kitchens, toilets and bathrooms.

Despite continually promising to carry out major improvements – including simply fitting battery-powered smoke alarms as a temporary measure – two further inspections in March and July found that little or no work had been carried out.

Officers from Leeds City Council were forced to close the house and find the tenants alternative accommodation.

Officers told the court that if a fire had broken out it would have spread rapidly through a property without fire detectors and the tenants would try to escape via a smoke filled staircase only to find themselves locked in by the security grille on the front door.

The court also heard that the pair claimed they could not afford the improvements – despite receiving £20,972 in housing benefits since purchasing the property.

Due to the offences that had already been committed, the council instituted legal proceedings against Mr Osman and Mr Rafiq over their refusal to fulfil conditions under their licence.

The order closing the house will only be lifted when works to make the property safe in relation to electrical installations and fire prevention and detection measures have been undertaken.

Councillor Les Carter, executive board member for housing, said:  “Landlords have a grave responsibility to ensure their tenants live in accommodation that does not put their lives at risk.

“It is important that the vast majority of landlords who abide by the rules are not tarred with the same brush, the actions of a few rotten apples should not affect the reputations of the rest.

“The rules for the council’s licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupancy were put together with the help of local landlords to set the standard for rented property in the city and allow us to combat bad landlords.

“We are committed to working with landlords to raise the standards of rented property to Leeds, but by the same token we will not hesitate to prosecute those who refuse to do so.”