Rogue landlords are never too far from the headlines. Despite being faced with the harsh penalties if they flout the law, all too often greedy landlords put their bottom line before the needs of their tenants.
Serious Safety Breaches
An Edgbaston Landlord is facing 19 months in prison as a result of a serious catalogue of safety breaches. The four-storey property had two faulty fire alarms, a blocked fire exit, a damaged fire door and incorrectly fitted emergency lighting.
Despite being warned by Birmingham Fire Brigade about fire safety hazards in his property, Cyrus Bassiri was obstructive and aggressive. The court heard how Bassiri tried to threaten the firefighters, who were only doing their job.
“You have been greedy, you have been cynical and you have been exploitative of the occupants of this property in your control,” said Judge Mary Stacey.
“Having failed to address the matters raised by the fire brigade you responded to their attempts to get you to comply with your legal obligations by being aggressive, by bullying behaviour, by threatening to take them to court and expose them to the press.”
Previous Warnings Ignored
Bassiri had previously been warned about safety breaches as early as 2010. New problems were identified in 2013, following a tip-off from a member of the public. Instead of sorting the problems out, conditions at the property further deteriorated, as Bassiri was more concerned about making a profit than spending money on the property.
The message from Birmingham Crown Court is that rogue landlords won’t get away with it – despite what they might think.
