A rogue landlord who failed to repair serious safety hazards in his property has been ordered to pay more than £3,000.

62-year-old Carlo Ykhlef, of Fairfield Road, Bridlington, did not comply with improvement notices after inspections by East Riding of Yorkshire Council found the flat in Quay Road wasn’t safe for his vulnerable tenant.

Beverley Magistrates Court heard that it contained Category 1 and 2 Hazards, including fire and excess cold, which represented a real danger, not only to the tenant but also to visitors, including her daughter who was several months pregnant.

Dangerous

Inspectors reported that the property was fitted with inadequate heating and insulation, a dangerous staircase (pictured), a faulty fire alarm and lacked a suitable door lock to the flat’s only main entrance door.

Ykhlef, who ran a financial planning business from the shop below until the late noughties, failed to respond to legal notices or complete the works and instead continued to allow tenants to live in unsafe conditions.

He did not attend the hearing and was ordered to pay a total of £3,287 - £660 for each of the two improvement notices, costs of £1,439 and a victim surcharge of £528.

Chris Dunnachie, private sector housing manager at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, says officers tried to work with the landlord but their advice was ignored. He adds: “This failure meant the council had to undertake emergency works to a dangerous staircase as a priority.”

Landlords should not be profiting from renting unsafe homes, says Dunnachie. “The council does, and will continue to, take robust action when the safety of tenants is put at risk due to serious hazards from the properties they are living in.”

Pic credits: Google Streetview/East Riding council.