Luton Borough Council

27/06/2023 - Landlord in court over second offence

Hazmar Fauz of The Avenue, Welwyn was handed a hefty fine of over £15,000 for a series of serious defects at a property he owns in London Road, Luton.

Whilst the property was correctly licensed, there were a significant number of dangerous features inside the property, which significantly impacted upon the safety of the accommodation. These included: rotting and unsecured flooring obstructing escape pathways in the case of fire; missing and covered heat detectors; disconnected door self-closing devices; an ill-fitting fire door and general lack of fire detection apparatus.

Coupled with the presence of damp and mould and a failure to display the correct certification and contact details at the residence. These failings amounted to a gross neglect of his responsibilities to the tenants and a breach of his licence.

In court Fauz pleaded guilty to the charges. The magistrates took this into account, but underlined the serious nature of his offences, particularly with regards to fire safety contraventions.

He was fined £10,800 and ordered to pay £4,888 costs and victim surcharge of £190 at the rate of £300 per month with the first payment due on the 7 July.

Fauz had previously been prosecuted for house in multiple occupation offences in 2021 when he was fined over £20,000.

Councillor Tom Shaw, portfolio for housing, said: “This is another good result for our Rogue Landlord Project – and for tenants throughout Luton. It is a reminder to all landlords that with their position comes legal responsibility. In this case it was especially worrying that the inactivity of the landlord placed the tenants at risk of significant harm. This is intolerable.

“It is simply not enough to make legally binding commitments on paper and then fail to stick by them. Being a landlord means regularly inspecting the premises and then ensuring issues are dealt with immediately and standards are maintained.”

The Rogue Landlord Project is a partnership with the Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue service, Bedfordshire Police, the Luton Law Centre and the Luton Citizens Advice Bureau.

If you have concerns about rented HMO accommodation phone 01582 547222 or email [email protected]