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Inconsistency in Landlord Fines
A Leeds landlord has been fined a paltry £750 for letting flats with no heating, no hot water, toilets that didn’t flush, inadequate security, and a lack of fire safety precautions.
Kosvka Mijakovac of Chapeltown, was fined £750 and ordered to pay costs of £2,749 plus a £25 victim surcharge having pleaded guilty at Leeds Magistrates Court earlier this month under Section 43 of the Housing Act 2004.
The council served Emergency Prohibition Orders on Mijakovac’s three flats at Roundhay Grove, Harehills in December 2013.
Previous inspections showed that the flats were in a dangerous condition and in such a bad state of repair, officers were concerned that tenants would be at risk of injury or even death.
Existing tenants found alternative accommodation but despite being legally obliged to fix the flats before letting them again, Mijakovac allowed three families with young children to move in in January 2014 without any repairs being made.
Despite warnings that the flats should not be occupied due to the risks to the health and safety of the occupants, tenants continued to live at the flats until June 2014.
Mijakovac was prosecuted for three offences of allowing re-occupation of a property subject to an Emergency Prohibition Order.
Councillor Peter Gruen, executive member for neighbourhoods, planning and personnel said: “This is probably one of the worst cases of deliberate neglect that I have seen.
“Our officers are on hand to offer their wealth of experience to keep tenants safe and landlords on the right side of the law. The majority of landlords are more than happy to work with us to ensure this is the case.
“However, when standards fall this far below the expected and required level, we will not stand by while people put profit ahead of safety, common sense and the law.”
