Renting out dangerous properties in Cardiff has cost two landlords thousands of pounds.

Rowshanara Begum has been fined £20,000 at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court for failing to comply with five Improvement Notices for work to a house she rents out in the Welsh capital. 

And Lawford Cunningham, from Birmingham, has been fined £7,000 for failing to comply with legislation relating to the licensing and management of an HMO in Cardiff.

Back in December 2022 Begum was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs and charges of £2,190. It was made clear to Begum that the improvement works identified through the inspection had to be completed by March 2022, but these were never carried out. A further summons was issued on Begum this month and a further fine of £20,000 was handed down, along with a charge of £1,000 in costs and a further £2,000 surcharge.

In the second case Cunningham pleaded guilty to no fewer than 24 offences. 

“When we take these matters to court, we do this to benefit the residents living at these properties, so that the faults identified are fixed and the properties are safe to live in. As one of these cases show, we do make the necessary checks to ensure that the work is completed, and if it hasn’t been, we will look to prosecute the landlord again.”