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A landlord has been ordered to pay more than £47,000 after pleading guilty to nine charges relating to two houses in Bradford.
The charges relating to two houses on Easby Road, which included failing to comply with HMO regulations, failure to comply with an emergency prohibition order, and failing to comply with an improvement notice, saw Hasan Kazi issued with a fine of £43,470 and told to pay a £2,000 surcharge and costs to Bradford Council of £2,200.
Some of the charges related to 8 Easby Road, a terraced property that had been divided into six flats, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
On 29 November 2023, council housing officers received a call from West Yorkshire Fire Service.
A crew visited the property and decided the “poor condition” of the building needed to be raised with the council.
Imran Hussain, prosecuting the case on behalf of Bradford Council, said officers found “significant disrepair and serious safety hazards”.
He listed some of the issues found by council officers, which included evidence of a rodent infestation, damp and damaged fire doors.
A door in one flat could not close, and the tenant had to prop furniture up against it to keep it shut.
The water storage area for one flat was “ineffective” – with one tenant telling officers they had not had hot water for more than two years.
The premises was inspected in February 2024 and officers saw evidence of cockroaches as well as broken bathroom tiles, broken ceilings, and holes that meant daylight could be seen through some walls.
The court’s legal advisor read out a statement prepared by the 78-year-old landlord saying: “My main point I’d like the court to understand is problem tenants.”
He added: “It is hard to understand the depths of their bad behaviour. They destroyed the fabric of the building for no reason.”
Explaining why his tenants were living in his unsafe properties after he had been ordered to close them down, he added: “They wanted to stay put, what was I supposed to do? If I had kicked them out they would have been on the streets.
The court heard Kazi owned 12 properties in Bradford, and these brought him £150,000 a year in rental income. But he claimed he made no profit from this, owing to expenses.
Kazi has 12 months to pay.
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