Cambridgeshire landlord fined £4,000

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Rogue Landlord:

Rogue landlord Noelle Salameh of Desmond Avenue, Cambridge has had fines and penalties imposed totalling around £4,000 after housing her tenants in appalling conditions.

Salameh’s
four-person
property at 5 Holbrook Road, not far from Addenbrooke’s Hospital, was
in a “disgusting state” lacking basic amenities, no
electricity, heating, cooker, shower or sink. The outside area was
also in a bad state with mounds of rubbish piled up.

The rogue landlord
has been fined £2,478 with £1,370 costs and £108 victim surcharge.

The situation came
to the attention of Cambridge City Council officers after it received
a complaint from tenants at the property about the poor conditions
they were living in. When council officials investigated they found
overcrowding, generally dangerous living conditions and the tenants
being harassed.

On top of everything
else the four-person house in multiple occupation (HMO) lacked basic
fire safety precautions, there was evidence of previous instances of
overcrowding and piles of the landlord’s own rubbish that had
accumulated in the front and rear gardens was never removed.

When Salameh failed
to respond to the schedule of works issued by the council to resolve
the problems, and subsequent inspections showed no improvement, the
council finally served a formal Improvement Notice on Salameh to
compel her to comply with the law but, again inspections showed no
improvement.

Following a trial at
Cambridge Magistrates Court in September, Salameh was found guilty of
the charges against her by the magistrates. She pleaded guilty to the
offences in person and was issued the fines and penalties.

Cllr Richard
Johnson, Executive Councillor for Housing, had said:

“Nobody renting a
home should be subjected to these shocking conditions.

“We are determined
to take a tough line with rogue landlords who exploit their tenants
for personal gain.

“As this case
shows, we will not hesitate to take legal action if landlords refuse
to abide by their legal obligations to their tenants.

“We will continue
to do all we can to protect residents from poor housing conditions
and I hope that this case serves as another warning to the small
minority of landlords who continue to flout the law.”

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