Northampton landlord fined £3,300 for putting his tenants at risk

At Northampton Magistrates Court on Thursday, 7 December, Nazrul Islam pleaded guilty to five offences in relation to the property in the town’s Charles Street.

The charges brought against Mr Islam by Northampton Borough Council included failure to comply without reasonable excuse to two licence conditions, two management regulations breaches, and works detailed on an Improvement Notice.

Mr Islam breached management regulations which left the occupants of the property at risk of not being able to safely escape from the property in the event of a fire.

He also failed to comply with an Improvement Notice served on 8 September 2016 which required him to make alterations to the layout of the property to ensure that the four occupants were adequately protected in the event of a fire.

And he pleaded guilty to not keeping the rear garden of his property in good order, leaving exposed brickwork in the kitchen, and failing to ensure that the electrical installation in the house was at all times kept safe and in proper working order.

Councillor Stephen Hibbert, cabinet member for housing and wellbeing, said: “We try our best to work with landlords so they can ensure their properties are safe and well maintained.

“Despite our best efforts, we sometimes find that the advice and guidance we offer is not followed and we need to and will take enforcement action including prosecution if necessary.

“We will now monitor the situation closely with this particular property to ensure the work needed is carried out adequately and in a timely fashion.”

The court fined Mr Islam £3,300 and ordered him to pay the council’s £1,890.26 legal costs along with a £170 victim surcharge.