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Landlord fined for 'flagrant' breaches of law
A landlord has been fined more than £5,000 and ordered to pay almost £2,000 costs over poor conditions in a house he rented out in Headingley and his "complete disregard" for his tenants.
Arshad Javed, of Allerton Road, Bradford, pleaded guilty at Leeds Magistrates' Court to six charges relating to conditions at the house in St Anne's Drive in Headingley.
In March, Leeds City Council officials inspected the five-bedroom property and found "flagrant" breaches of the Houses in Multiple Occupancy (HMO) Licence that had been issued in July 2007.
No fire alarm had been installed despite the landlord being ordered to do so two years earlier.
Smoke detectors in the property had not been properly monitored and the front door was missing a vital thumbturn lock to allow easy escape from the property in the event of a fire.
The one key provided to the front door was missing at the time of inspection and gas safety and electrical installation certificates were not provided despite a formal request being made for them.
They had still not been provided by last week's court hearing.
Coun Peter Gruen, Leeds City Council's executive board member for housing, said: "These properties are licensed to ensure the protection of the people living in them.
"But these breaches show that Mr Javed had complete disregard for his responsibilities as a landlord.
"The majority of landlords take their responsibilities seriously but when one fails to maintain such a property, we will take action against
them.
"I hope this sends out a very clear message to tenants that if there are problems with your accommodation the council is there to help."
HMO licences are issued for a five year period and have a number of conditions attached to them which include fire safety requirements, the number of bathrooms and kitchens, and the number of people permitted to occupy the property.
Leeds has the highest number of licensed HMOs in the country with over 2,800 licences issued.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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