£11,000 in fines handed out

25 July 2016

Three landlords in Oxford have been convicted for a range of housing and safety offences, after inspections carried out earlier this year by environmental officer from Oxford City Council discovered the failings.
 
Mr Abdul Saleem Chaudhry was prosecuted after officers found three restaurant staff living on the third floor his Shezan restaurant.
 
Council officers say the property was a high-risk unlicensed HMO, with two fire-safety faults.
 
Mr Chaudhry pleaded guilty and received fines totalling £4,000 and was ordered to pay surcharges and council costs of £1,436.
 
Mr Shoukat Khan, meanwhile, was prosecuted after investigations into a rented house he owned.
 
Council officers found he had breached fire and safety conditions of his HMO licence. He received a fine of £2,000 and was ordered to pay surcharges and council costs of £1,375.
 
And finally, Mrs Deborah May Humes was prosecuted after a council officer visited the rented house she owned.
 
They found three unrelated tenants in the unlicensed rental house and fire offences including a lack of two working smoke alarms and no fire door to the kitchen.
 
Mrs Humes pleaded guilty by letter to managing an unlicensed HMO and two breaches of the HMO management regulations. 
 
She received fines totalling £5,000 and was ordered to pay surcharges and council costs of £1,238.
 
Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, board member for planning, transport and regulatory services, said: “Oxford City Council will continue to pursue breaches of safety regulations for HMOs. 
 
“We take this issue very seriously, and we urge landlords to make sure their properties comply with the rules.”
 
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