Magistrates 'horrified' by
landlord's bodged work on flats
A man who converted part of his shop into flats and rented them out without adhering to building regulations has been ordered to pay out more than £1,500.

Loughborough Magistrates said they were ‘horrified’ by the conditions Joynal Abedin’s tenants were living in following the bodged work.

Abedin, of Boyer Street, Loughborough, pleaded guilty to a number of breaches of the regulations after being prosecuted by Charnwood Borough Council’s Building Control Services department.

The court heard how he had converted part of a shop at 144-146 King Street, Loughborough, into two flats. An inspection by council officers uncovered fire hazards and issues with foul water drains plus other concerns.

Abedin was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £500 legal costs with a £15 victim surcharge after admitting breaches of planning regulations.

In coming to their decision, Magistrates said they were concerned that there remained incomplete/unsafe works.

David Slater, Cabinet Member for Planning at Charnwood Borough Council, said: “Building regulations are there for a reason: they are designed to uphold people’s health, safety and welfare. We take any reports of people failing to comply with them very seriously and, as this case shows, we will take tough action if necessary.”

The charges were brought against the landlord under section 35 of the Building Act 1984 and the Building Regulations 2000.

Landlord given larger fine for not pleading guilty
A Burton-based landlord has been forced to pay £3,000 after magistrates found him guilty of failing to comply with a Council notice to make his property safe to live in.

On Thursday, January 21st, Mohammed Ayaz was found guilty of failure to comply with an Improvement Notice served by East Staffordshire Borough Council’s Housing Team on a property he rented privately in Derby Street, Burton.

Ayaz had argued that he had a reasonable excuse for failing to carry out the improvement works but at the end of a day-long trial the Magistrates delivered a guilty verdict.

Ayaz was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £1,000 costs. He was told that the fine would have been significantly less if he had pleaded guilty in the first place.

Cllr Julia Jessel, Deputy Leader for Communities, said: “We are pleased with the successful prosecution for not complying with the Improvement Notice.

“The notice was only served after a long running effort by the Council’s Housing Team to work with the owner to make the property healthy and safe to live in and prosecution is not something the Council resorts to quickly.

“However, let this be a clear message to those landlords who do not keep their property to a reasonable standard that we will not shy away from taking decisive action. Everyone has the right to live in a decent home.”