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‘Slum’ landlord is fined £80,000
A HOUSING manager and his company have been fined nearly £80,000 for allowing tenants to live in rotten, unsafe conditions.
Residents of the 15-unit building, 64 Fellows Road, in Swiss Cottage, lived with mice infestations, mould, damp, broken banisters, rotting bathrooms, and faulty fire alarms, Highbury Magistrates were told.
Housing manager Mr S Bukhari, of Chessington Court, Henleys Corner, whose first name is not known, may now have to sell the property to pay his fines. Although Camden Council failed to trace the owner of the property, owned by Alazar International Incorporated, whose directors are registered in Liberia.
Mr Bukhari, who was prosecuted in his absence and unrepresented in court, faced further penalties for not ensuring faults identified by environmental health officers had been fixed by the time they made a second visit.
Prosecuting for Camden Council, Arnoud Van den Bout told the court drains were blocked, a manhole was covered with plywood and there were gaps enabling mice to get in to the property.
He added: “In one unit, a tenant was moving out and it was clear there was a mouse infestation. We could have walked into the premises because there was a defective door lock. If pushed it could be freely opened. The communal shower in the second floor was dirty, encrusted with limescale.”
He added: “All the way up the staircase there were broken or missing banister railings and all the fire break glass alarms had been damaged. There are 15 flats inside this premises. There’s more than one family living in it and there are shared facilities.”
When asked how Mr Bukhari would pay the fines, Mr Van den Bout said: “If needs be, the premises will have to be sold.”
Olga Francisco, who paid Mr Bukhari £300 a month for living in Fellows Road told how she lived with damp ceilings, a jammed window and a broken door closer.
Both the Mr Bukhari and Alazar International Incorporated were prosecuted and fined for the faults, bringing the total penalty to nearly £80,000.
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