A landlord has been ordered to pay over £10,000 at Cardiff Magistrates' Court for a catalogue of failures relating to a property she owns and lets as a House of Multiple Occupation.
Rowshanara Begum from Grangetown in Cardiff did not attend court and was sentenced in her absence, with a fine of £2,000 was given for each of the five offences, totalling £10,000, as well as £2,000 in costs and a victim surcharge of £190.
The case came to light following a complaint from a tenant about the conditions at the rented property in Grangetown.
An inspection was carried out and a catalogue of faults were identified, including, inadequate structural fire protection to escape from the property, no fire alarm system, unprotected electricity meters, defective fire doors, broken windows, unsafe electrical installations, dirty carpets, unsafe kitchen facilities and evidence of penetrating damp.
Legal notices were served on Begum to make the required repairs to her rented property. As these repairs were not completed within the time allowed, legal action was taken.
A Cardiff council spokeswoman says: "HMOs play an important role in the city's housing stock. As a landlord, the financial yield from these properties is often higher than renting a family home, but renting HMOs carries additional responsibilities and the required investment in the property to ensure that it is safe for the tenants that are living there.
"In this instance, the Victorian property has been turned into four self-contained flats. The flats were not just in breach of the requirements, they were unsafe and dangerous. Our officers will follow up the case, now that the legal process has ended to ensure that the repairs are carried out and the property is in a safe state of repair for the people living there."
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Mmmmm, wonder where she's really from ?
Related to Lady Hussey, Andrew?
She's my older sister Robert
Older?????
Alright Robert, my twin sister really
Ah! I knew we'd get there eventually - as Lady Hussey said - allegedly!
What bearing does that have Andrew? Anyway, if someone is a British citizen then they are British surely. Regardless, where she is 'really' from is nothing to do with her maintenance of the property, unless I've completely misunderstood something?
Nothing whatso ever Geraldine
So why make the comment Andrew?
Because I'm not wrong Geraldine , now if you don't like it that's fine by me dear
Geraldine
There does seem to be a disproportionate preponderance of "non native" names amongst "rogue" landlords being sanctioned in the posts on this site.
Of course, it may be that this is totally in proportion to the ownership of BTL properties and not indicative of any disproportionate disregard to the law or well being of tenants.
On the other hand, it may be indicative of such disregard, based on the well tested theorem "if it's looks a duck......"
To make such observations is simply to exercise our hard won freedoms, especially of speech, which seems increasingly at risk from various woke factions.
I understand what you say Robert and like yourself, I'm totally fed up with the cancel culture that denies free speech and the voicing of opinions. However, let's have open discussions on the facts in hand rather than indulge in what, quite frankly, appears to be racism and benefits no one.
I'm far from being woke, and am in agreement with the majority of the comments on Landlord today, as I'm just as tired of the continual landlord bashing as everyone else. Hence properties have been sold/are on the market.
So I'm not woke, just in favour of being fair and assessing facts rather than literally 'pre-judging' based on someone's name, ie prejudice. I don't think that's helpful to anyone. Just my opinion.
Fortunately we are all still entitled to our own opinions and they don't need to match - although whether that will last in the new Woke era is by no means certain!
This is in response to your last comment Robert. Yes, absolutely, you are entitled to an opinion, however bigotry and racism isn't justified. Suppose I dismissed you out of hand just because I supposed that you and Andrew are white men of pensionable age and therefore are out of touch. I'm being very polite - you both have no need to make disparaging comments based on someone's supposed ethnicity. That's not being woke, that's the law!
As I said, how long we will be entitled to our opinions is by no means certain.
It used to be said "Sir, I do not agree with what you said but I will fight to the death to defend your right to say it!"
Nowadays we cannot even ponder on the possibility that respect for the law may vary (like recollections) among those of different backgrounds.
Incidentally whilst Smith and Brown are the two most common surnames in the UK, I don't recall seeing them among the culprits on this site in any great numbers.
I am interested on how dirty the carpet has to be to incur a fine?
We all know that carpets only get cleaner once tenants move in, so it must have been really dirty when the tenants decided to view the property - in which case they still took the property, so why blame the landlord?
Geraldine
For someone who claims not to be woke you've got a strange way of showing it.
By not agreeing with racism?
So am I meant to say that if course you're right, if you have a non English surname you are automatically a rogue landlord, and if I don't I'm woke.
Again, pre-judging or prejudice, that you extrapolate from one thing to totally judge me as a person. Exactly the same thing as judging someone with a 'foreign ' surname.
Exactly the same reason that many Jewish people anglicised their names - we all know what the Nazis did with their prejudice. Have we learned nothing!
I'm certainly not racist.
I have quite a few English friends!
I even have a Scottish friend, I think, in Robert, now there's a thing
It’s easy to be a racist now just ask where they are from. I was often asked that.
Let’s not loose sight of our Business being destroyed by Statute, we are all in this together, all Creeds, Nationality and Culture’s.
Lol Robert Brown - I have scots parents - that was funny!
Catherine
OK. You'll know I was lying then!
Geraldine, thats awfully good darling, when did you learn classic Marxism !
My first degree was Political Philosphy so I have no idea what your take on Classic Marxism is but I can assure you it's wide of the mark!
(Ps I also hold an MSc in IT Security and am a qualified teacher, as well as a portfolio Tory voting landlord of White descent and pensionable age...now pigeonhole me lol).
Well well a teacher Geraldine, that tells it all.
Yes Andrew I'm well educated!
Geraldine well done can you educate Mr Michael Gove before he brings the Country to its knees with his unfairer Renting Proposal and removing Section 21 the very foundation of all Private lettings.
Or are you in the other Tory Camp, of John Lewis , Lloyds Bank. Barclay Bank, GA, M &S, Avivia, Stigma etc to drive us out for them to take over our Business, when were they even involved in letting.
Its great to have a Masters in Information Technology congratulations you won’t have any problem filling a tax form or being a Digital Academic manager, but with the greatest respect not a hope of being a landlord. Best wishes
Having been a successful landlord for over 20 years in London and the South East, I wonder why you'd think I wouldn't have a hope....on what do you base this? Had 22 properties before I began selling! I even often self manage, have bought at auction, developed am a director of a block.
Geraldine my friend. Yes of Course exactly a Manager. If we were all Managers there would be no Landlords. I know where the Business would be without any hands on Landlords and Rents would shoot through the roof, everything sublet only Landlords give free time, sub Contractors do not.
Anyway it makes a break from inventing racism.
You have been a very successful Manager well done.
This is the strangest selection of comments all designed to attack me and deflect when I called out prejudice, bigotry and racism.
What riles you about me being a highly successful, money making landlord ? Yes, I do manage my portfolio very well thank you. What on earth you mean by if we were all managers there would be no landlords is nonsensical - to be a successful landlord you require a raft of skills thereby managing the portfolio!
It would appear that prejudice, bigotry and racism only need to be "felt" by someone in order to be proven.
Legitimate comments on the possibility that rogue landlords might not be uniformly represented across all nationalities or racial origins are not to be tolerated, despite being based on viewing many hundreds of articles on this site and other sources of rogue landlord behaviour.
Any attempts to "no platform" observations or queries linked to racial origins based on ample evidence will indeed be robustly resisted.
Perhaps some of our posters have spent too long at University and want to limit free speech whilst becoming blind to evidence available in the real world?
Geraldine my friend no one attacking you at all, you said you believe in free speech. We are adults not a school playground you say one thing then Its my turn next and so it goes on bickering but we are above all that point scoring creating issues, we have enough problems without picking on each other, not necessary to to keep on.
By the way well done for selling some you seen the light.
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