A Staffordshire landlord has been fined more than £4,000 for failing to make vital improvements to a property he was renting out.
Mohammed Rafakat, of Longton, was handed a £2,500 fine in January when he was found guilty of renting out a damp-ridden property in Argyll Road, Normacot. This week The Sentinel reported that he has been ordered to pay a further £4,087 after ignoring an improvement notice.
The paper reported that environmental health inspectors had carried out three visits to the property last year.
In April they found rising damp in the lounge and kitchen, that there was no heating, and that the light fittings were inadequate and didn’t work. The property was in a general state of disrepair.
Another inspection in June found that none of the work had been carried out and Rafakat was served with an improvement notice later that month.
A subsequent visit to the property in August found that some of the work had been carried out, the boiler had been replaced and central heating had been installed.
However, Stafford Magistrates Court heard that the tenant had carried out this work herself with Rafakat not involved in the improvements.
Magistrates ordered Rafakat to pay a fine of £4,087 after finding he has ‘consistently’ failed to carry out the improvements.
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