Second strike for rogue landlord in Lincoln

A rogue Lincoln landlord has been ordered to pay more than £10,000 after he was prosecuted for an unsafe property – for a second time.

The City of Lincoln Council won a second legal battle against Mr Abdol Ali Javid Keshmiri of Wragby Road.

He was ordered to pay £10,123.30 in fines and costs for a property which failed to comply with safety regulations on Burton Road.

The terraced house, which was converted into two flats, was inspected in June 2017 following a complaint from a member of the public.

The House in Multiple Occupation was occupied by a family of four including two young children in the upstairs flat and by a single person in the downstairs flat.

The property had several breaches of fire safety requirements including a failure to provide adequate fire separation when the property was converted without planning permission or building regulations approval.

Fire alarms were missing and doors were sealed shut and wallpapered over, which would not prevent the spread of fire.

The ceilings had also not been upgraded to prevent the spread of fire.

The banisters on the stairs had been removed leaving an unguarded drop of six feet. A kitchen door in the upstairs flat had been removed that would have protected a kitchen fire from spreading.

The landlord had also failed to provide restrictors on two upstairs windows with low sills which were essential to prevent the occupiers, especially the young children, living in the flat from falling out of the windows.

Another window in the downstairs bedroom did not open and could not have been used to escape from fire.

Keshmiri was previously convicted and charged £8,253.38 in October 2016 for 11 similar offences at a property on Ely Street.

Hannah Cann, Private Housing Team Leader of City of Lincoln Council, said: “We are extremely concerned with landlords who have created unsafe flats in Lincoln by dividing up properties without complying with Building Regulation requirements.”

The council has obtained funding from central government for a two-year Rogue Landlord project to inspect the condition of properties in the city and issue improvements or prosecutions to landlords who are failing to meet those standards.

Upon sentencing, magistrates made the following comment: “We have thought long and hard about this matter. Mr Keshmiri has a portfolio of 20 properties and it is reasonable to expect him to have a sound knowledge of Houses in Multiple Occupation.

“He has failed in his duty of care to ensure the safety of his tenants and to take all such measures required to protect them.”