Landlord Nicholas Hyde refused to carry out work to make the flats safe and blamed the poor state of repair on the tenants.
Then, he took his case to a residential property tribunal which found in favour of Redcar and Cleveland Council.
Now, Hyde, 63, must pay just over £21,000 in fines and costs after magistrates found him guilty of six house in multiple occupation (HMO) offences at Teesside Court.
The court heard that tenants complained to the council about shocking living conditions at the flats in Redcar, Cleveland, which triggered an inspection by the fire safety and housing team.
They ruled the flats were an immediate and ‘major fire risk’ as they had:
• No fire alarm in working order
• Exposed electric cables, cracked and scorched sockets and switches
• Tenants without effective heating using cookers and portable heaters to stay warm
• Huge piles of rubbish creating a fire risk
Lynn Pallister, the council’s cabinet member for housing and neighbourhood renewal, said: “The council will always work with landlords to achieve improvements informally where possible.
“However, where co-operation is not forthcoming formal action will be pursued where necessary, including prosecution. Throughout, Mr Hyde, who admitted owning 18 other properties, has tried to blame the tenants for the poor conditions and considered the council’s action excessive.
In a separate case, landlord Tendayi Mutamiri was ordered to pay £6,000 fines and £2,964 costs after conviction for nine HMO licensing and safety offences in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.
Milton Keynes Magistrates Court heard Mutamiri had no HMO licence, did not maintain the gas boiler and had no gas safety certificate.
Jane Reed, assistant director for housing at Milton Keynes Council, said: “We will not hesitate to use the full force of the law to bring irresponsible landlords to account.
“In this case the landlord failed to meet the legal requirements that are there for the protection and safety of the tenants and neighbours.”
Meanwhile, six student tenants reclaimed £6,800 in rent from a property company convicted of HMO licensing and safety offences by Liverpool magistrates.
Liverpool City Council aided the students in a case at a residential property tribunal against Ardua Limited.
