Rotherham landlords in court for breaching licensing rules

Mohammed Hanif Khan, of Broom Lane, was found guilty at Sheffield Magistrate’s Court for several breaches of conditions in relation to licences held for properties on Wellgate Mount, Wellgate and Selborne Street in Eastwood. In total he was ordered to pay £2,015.03 in fines and costs.

Magistrates also imposed further fines against six other rogue landlords from Rotherham in relation to unlicensed properties.

Saidya Halima, of Cameron Road, Derby, was found to be operating an unlicensed property on Belmont Street, Masbrough, after the selective licensing team prohibited the property from use after deeming it not fit for human occupation. This was a result of concerns around the external doors, a rotting floor in the living room and the fire place. She complied with the prohibition order, but has been ordered to pay £1,000 fines and costs for operating without a licence.

Masood Hanif, of Hollowgate, was found guilty of operating four flats without a licence on Fitzwilliam Road, Eastwood. He was ordered to pay £1,038.55 fines and costs. He has since applied for his licence.

Mohammed Iqbal and Nazir Begum, of Grosvenor Road, Eastwood, were charged with failing to licence a property on Milton Road, Eastwood. Their fines and costs total more than £2,275.

Kala Khan, of Doncaster Road, Rotherham, was ordered to pay fines and costs of more than £1,000 for failing to licence a property on St Ann’s Road, Eastwood. He has since applied to licence the property.

Basharat Rafiq, of Doncaster Road, Rotherham, was given a fine and costs of just under £1,000 in relation to an unlicensed property on Lindley Street, Eastwood.

The mandatory selective licensing scheme was introduced in May 2015 to cover parts of Maltby, Dinnington, Eastwood and Masbrough and requires landlords to licence privately rented properties.

A report to the council’s cabinet found that 91 per cent of the homes inspected in the first selective licensing areas required action to make them safe. Ten properties were found to be an imminent and serious risk to the safety of tenants and had to be closed to occupation.

RMBC is about to consult on expanding the scheme into Thurcroft and Parkgate, where housing standards are below national averages. These areas were singled out because of high levels of crime and anti-social behaviour, as well as suffering from significant amounts of environmental problems such as fly tipping and littering.

Cllr Dominic Beck, Rotherham Council’s cabinet member for housing, said: “Landlords should take the warning from these court cases that they risk heavy fines if they fail to obtain a licence or comply with conditions.

“This should send a loud and clear message that you should take your responsibilities very seriously.”

For more information on selective licensing, or to apply for a licence, go to:

https://www.rotherham.gov.uk/homepage/355/selective_licensing

To see the Cabinet report visit:  https://moderngov.rotherham.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=1003&MId=14421&Ver=4