A landlord has been handed a £8,471 bill for allowing his tenants to live in a property with serious structural issues (see below), dangerous wiring and a lack of fire safety measures.

Peterborough Magistrates’ Court heard that the city council’s housing standards team had received a complaint about Mohammed Quahid Laib’s property in Essendyke being occupied as an unlicensed HMO.

Concerns were raised over general property maintenance, as unauthorised works had previously been undertaken. Inspectors found serious structural issues, dangerous electrical wiring, a lack of fire safety measures, and many other disrepair problems.

Banning

The housing standards team served an order banning Laib from renting out the HMO until works could be completed. However, he failed to comply with this as it was subsequently found to be occupied on a number of occasions, without repairs being done.

Laib did not attend the court hearing but was convicted in his absence and fined £5,000, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £2,000 and the council’s £1,471 costs. It is now considering what further action is needed to address the safety concerns.

Early this year, the council, whose register includes some 100 HMOs across the city, introduced an Article 4 direction to better regulate small HMOs in three areas of the city - Fletton and Woodston, the Hamptons and Park Ward - for two years, after a consultation revealed resident concerns about noise, litter, anti-social behaviour and parking. Its new selective licensing scheme, covering 40% of the city’s private rental properties, launched in March.

Pic: Google Streetview