A landlord who failed to comply with improvement notices served on a house he rented out has been fined.

Bradford and Keighley Magistrates’ Court heard on Friday that Ashfaq Hussain had been warned a bedroom in a house he rented out was a fire hazard.

Mr Hussain was found guilty in his absence of 12 offences of breaching housing regulations and failing to comply with improvement notices issued by Bradford Council.

Prosecutor Harjit Ryatt said that in June last year, housing officers visited the terraced house in North Street, Keighley.

The house had been converted into six one-room flats, one of which had no safe means of evacuation if a fire had started in the kitchen.

Other defects in the house had also not been rectified. The fire alarm system was not working, electrical fittings were outdated, there was a broken window and loose carpets on the stairs.

Magistrates fined Hussain £4,020 and ordered him to pay costs of £1,865.

Steve Hartley, Bradford Council strategic director with responsibility for housing, said the action showed “how seriously” the courts and council regarded safety of tenants.

Original source

Keighley News