Evict a rogue Landlord - Shelter...

tbs624

Landlord prosecuted for endangering lives

A landlord has been handed a suspended jail sentence for endangering lives after a mother, her partner and her eight-year-old daughter were poisoned by carbon monoxide at a flat in Lewisham.
Gail Calvert, her partner Stephen Clayden and the young girl inhaled large quantities of the deadly gas in a ground floor property on Iona Close, Catford, on 20 November 2011. .........

...Westminster Magistrates' Court heard today (15 August) that the source of the leak was a faulty gas boiler in their flat, which they rented from David MacDonald. ............an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive revealed evidence of poor maintenance and demonstrated the boiler was emitting high levels of carbon monoxide.
David Francis MacDonald, of The Peabody Estate, Camberwell Green, had earlier pleaded guilty to two separate breaches of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 for ignoring his responsibilities. He was sentenced to six months' imprisonment, suspended for two years, ordered to carry out 200 hours' community service and ordered to pay £8,211 in costs.

My bolding.

Source- HSE website

In Sheffield, 2 LLs were given suspended prison sentences after dangerous defects were found on every gas appliance at their rental property

.....Sheffield Magistrates heard the defects were discovered after a council housing officer visiting the property in Gleadless Road noticed a gas fire's flame burning yellow.

A Gas Safe Register Investigator was called in and found a range of serious faults with appliances and fittings throughout the property. He decommissioned the boiler, cooker and gas fires in the lounge and dining room after classifying them 'immediately dangerous'. He also found evidence of carbon monoxide fumes.


The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which brought today's (6 August) prosecution, found the appliances and flues had not been checked annually by a registered gas engineer, they had not been maintained in a safe condition as required by law, and the tenant had never been given a copy of the gas safety record.


After the hearing, HSE Inspector Denise Fotheringham described the condition of the gas appliances as "shocking" and said the landlords had put their tenant at risk of serious injury or even death.

Waheed A h m i d, of Albert Road, Sheffield S8, and Farhat Basharat of Violet Bank Road, Sheffield, had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to three charges under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations carried out between 3 December 2009 and 2 December 2010.


Both were handed three month jail sentences, suspended for 12 months. A h m i d was also ordered to undertake 150 hours of community service and pay £2,500 towards prosecution costs. Basharat was ordered to undertake 200 hours of community service and pay £5,000 in costs.

Source - HSE website

Fire_Fox

Notmyrealname wrote: »

Anyone notice a common theme developing in these court cases with the convicteds names?

Seems to be that if you want a decent landlord, stay away from Asians.

You could equally well say, if you want a decent landlord stay away from men.

Maybe Asian landlords are more likely to get prosecuted due to institutional racism. Or maybe they are p1ss poor at keeping under the radar/ covering their tracks. With some cases I just think "why on earth would you believe you'd get away with that?" :rotfl:

theartfullodger

Well done Norwich council....

Rogue city landlord prosecuted

16/10/2012 ​A city landlord has been ordered to pay £53,500 after being prosecuted successfully by Norwich City Council for putting his tenants at risk.

At Norwich Crown Court last Friday (12 October), Mr Joseph Howman, of Grosvenor Road, Norwich, pleaded guilty to nine offences under the Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006 and did not meet the standards requited of a landlord in the Licence Conditions (part 2, Housing Act 2004).

In addition to being fined £5,000 plus £135 victim surcharge and £8,500 costs, Mr Howman was ordered to pay £40,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) 2002.

Norwich City Council is the first local authority in the country to use POCA against a landlord who failed to comply with license conditions.

The court heard how the house in Unthank Road, which was let as 10 bedsits with shared bathrooms and licensed in multiple occupation (HMO) under the Housing Act 2004, posed a number of hazards to its tenants.

An inspection by council officers in November 2010 found, among other problems, the rooms had no heating, the main bathroom had no hot water, the communal bathrooms were dirty, the fire doors were in poor condition with many not working, and there were electrical hazards, including hanging wires and defective lighting.

Ellen Spencer, private sector housing officer says: "Norwich City Council is committed to making sure private tenants live in safe houses which meet legal standards. In this case the landlord risked the safety of tenants by cutting corners and refusing to make improvements.

"We are pleased that the court recognised the serious nature of the offences and hope that this will send out a message that rogue landlords will not be tolerated in Norwich."

see...
http://www.norwich.gov.uk/news/Pages/Citylandlordmustpaybackcriminalproceeds.aspx

theartfullodger

My thanks are due to Garden Court chambers for this one..

http://www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk/bulletins/category/bulletin_detail.cfm?iBulletinID=788

Lancashire Fire & Rescue v Neal Gilligan
11 October 2012
The defendant was the private landlord of seven houses sub-divided into flats. On inspection, serious breaches of fire safety legislation were detected including: inadequate fire risk assessments; fire alarms systems switched off or damaged; fire safety equipment, such as fire extinguishers, fire alarm systems and emergency lighting not being maintained in adequate condition; obstructions and combustibles (including a motorcycle) on escape routes; and inadequate fire separation, meaning that a fire could have swept through the accommodation unchecked by fire doors or appropriate barriers to fire spread. Enforcement notices and prohibition notices were not complied with. The defendant pleaded guilty to 13 offences under the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005. At Preston Crown Court he was given a prison sentence of six months - suspended for 18 months - and made subject to a six-month curfew between the hours of 7pm to 7am.

see also..
http://www.lancsfirerescue.org.uk/2012/10/st-annes-landlord-prosecuted-for-failing-to-keep-tenants-safe-from-fire/

tbs624

theartfullodger wrote: »

Well done Norwich council....

It was also Norwich Council that prosecuted a London based LL of Norwich properties for failing to ensure that the properties could be heated adequately ( further back in this lengthy thread - post 184)

Edit - see also http://www.norwich.gov.uk/news/Pages/LettingAgentFinedForPuttingTenantsAtRisk.aspx

"A Norwich letting agent who ignored a warning to reduce fire hazards in one of its properties has been fined by a court.
Pure Lettings pleaded guilty on 17 May at Norwich Magistrates Court to failing to comply with an improvement notice in a licensed House in Multiple Occupation under The Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006.

A total fine of £2,800 was handed down for the breaches of the notice, plus costs of £1,200 for Norwich City Council’s investigation and legal costs, as well as a £15 surcharge.

The breaches were in respect of 129 Rosary Road, a registered three-storey HMO with seven bedsits."

tbs624

"A record fine of £27,400 has been handed out to a landlord after tenants, including children, were discovered living in a slum.
Ashfaq Mohuiddin, aged 45, of Ridgeway Gardens, Ilford, was found guilty of 17 charges at Thames Magistrates' Court. They included failing to license and manage a house in multiple occupation (HMO). The HMO was a mid-terrace block with four flats over a restaurant, on High Street North, East Ham.

Mohuiddin was also ordered to pay Newham Council's costs of £3,515 and a victim surcharge of £15.

Horrified Newham Council housing inspectors found a number of occupiers and two children living in the unlicensed property, which was infested with mice and cockroaches. There were also no fire detectors.

It is a record fine for a landlord in Newham and believed to be one of the biggest in London."

Source

theartfullodger

You'd kinda think the tenant would/should also be fined but....

see...

http://www.landlordcentre.co.uk/news/NewsArticle.aspx?id=801379084&h=Leeds%20landlord%20prosecuted%20for%20Selective%20Licensing%20failures

.....the prosecution of landlord Colin Harrison, of Harrison Crescent, Gipton.
.

At a hearing at Leeds Magistrates Court, he was fined £1,000, with costs of £2,447 and a £15 victim surcharge, after he was found to have accepted false references from his tenants.

Cheers!!

tbs624

In this case though it's the * LL's* responsibility under Selective Licensing to seek out appropriate references from any potential T, in an effort to address local anti-social behaviour. If the police were able to discover that the references provided on behalf of this T were in fact not written/provided by the person whose was supposed to have been the author of them, then the LL could also have easily established that.

Although there is clearly nothing to suggest that this LL would have personally been involved, IMO its likely that in some areas where LLs face having a lengthy void otherwise, they may perhaps be tempted to *assist* with the provision of "references".

The T in the case quoted could possibly in turn be separately chased up under misrepresentation/obtaining by deception etc

And, of course, there is one of the discretionary Grounds for Eviction, G17......

theartfullodger

.
see...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-20048823

Councillor Brian Silvester fined for safety breaches

A Cheshire East councillor has been fined for fire safety breaches at a property he rented out.
Brian Silvester, 60, was fined £45,000 at Chester Crown Court for failing to obtain the necessary licence for a house in multiple occupation and 11 fire safety offences.
.
He admitted the charges at an earlier hearing.
The fire service said after the case, the breaches "could ultimately have led to serious injury or potential death".
.
The ward councillor for Willaston appeared in court alongside his brother Colin Silvester, 58, who was fined £37,500 for the same offences.
.
Both men pleaded guilty to the charges, relating to Shavington House Farm, Crewe Road, Shavington, at Crewe Magistrates' Court in July.
.
The councillor, of Shavington House Farm, and his brother, of Pinewood Crescent, Holcombe Brook, Bury, Greater Manchester, were each ordered to pay costs of £22,000 by recorder Elgan Edwards.
.
Lee Shears, from Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: "The seriousness of the breaches could ultimately have led to serious injury or potential death in the event of a fire but thankfully one didn't occur and we've not had to see any of those risks realised."
He added: "They were very serious breaches, some of the most serious we have seen in premises of this type."
.
Former tenant John Masters said he was so concerned about safety breaches at the property, he left a lump hammer on a window sill in his room.
.
He said: "The first thing I thought was how to get out in case of fire.
"I tied a long scaffold rope from a beam which I could throw out of the window.
"I literally had a lump hammer and a pair of gloves on the window sill so that I could smash the frame, because it was only a small window, and slide down the rope with a pair of gloves.
"It wasn't a joke and it wasn't for show, it had been there from the day I moved in."

According to Private Eye last year Dave sent an "outstanding achievement certificate" to Brian Silvester for his 35 years loyal service to the Cons: To be fair to Dave they have now allegedly suspended him from the Party...

However the council website still has him, his photo etc etc and lists him in Tory...
http://moderngov.cheshireeast.gov.uk/ecminutes/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=458

see also..
http://www.crewechronicle.co.uk/crewe-news/local-crewe-news/2012/10/31/cheshire-east-councillor-brian-silvester-urged-to-resign-after-criminal-conviction-96135-32132473/

CONVICTED criminal Brian Silvester has been urged to ‘do the decent thing’ and resign from Cheshire East Council.

tbs624

See this report of a "slum landlord" who failed to comply with a Council served Improvement Notice on a property that he let out to two pensioners. Report includes photos of collapsed ceiling etc.

"Sukhbir Singh Birak, 37, of Kensington Gardens, Ilford, admitted at Thames Magistrates' Court earlier this month (November 14th) failing to comply with an Improvement Notice.This was served on him under the Housing Act by Newham Council in July 2011 for his mid terraced three-bedroom Victorian house on Chester Road in Forest Gate. Birak was also ordered to pay costs of £370 and a Victim Surcharge of £15.

Council Housing Inspectors found the elderly couple had been living for over seven months with a deficient heating system, a broken window, collapsed ceilings in both the bedroom and kitchen and an electric shower as the only source of hot water.

The landlord ignored numerous requests from the Council, who asked him to rectify these problems. Housing Inspectors, with concerns for the welfare of the elderly couple, had to step in and carry out remedial works costing over £1400, which the council are claiming back ."

Fine seems pitifully low IMO.