Mar

Bristol landlord fined for housing a family in shop storage space

admin

A rogue landlord has been fined £87,000 after environmental health officers found children sleeping in cupboards behind his rented convenience store.

Deepak Singh
Sachdeva, of Moresby Avenue in Surbiton, was found guilty by Bristol
magistrates of renting out poor quality living
accommodation that posed a serious risk to life.

When officers investigated his Premier shop
premises on Avonmouth Road in Avonmouth, they found nine people in two separate
living spaces above the shop’s rear storage area, with three of them, including
two young children, sleeping in cupboards in the eaves of the roof.

Councillor Paul Smith, cabinet member
for housing, says: “These were some of the worst conditions environmental health
officers working in this field have seen. The property had been so badly built
and managed that the tenants were constantly in serious danger. The risk was so
severe that the council had little option but to formally order people not to
live in the accommodation.”

The property was in such poor
structural condition and design that it posed a serious risk to life. There was
barely any fire-resistant separation between the shop store and the flat above,
with the floorboards of the living accommodation clearly visible from the
storage area immediately below. Other problems included large gaps around fire
doors and a lack of smoke detectors, while one of the studio flats also lacked
basic ventilation, had no external windows and limited access via a poorly
maintained staircase.

Singh Sashdeva was ordered to pay
a victim surcharge of £120 and £1,434 costs. Magistrates said the large fine
reflected his complete disregard for tenants’ safety, particularly children,
and the serious risk to life the property posed.

Bristol City Council has been getting tougher on rogue
landlords, using its Rogue Landlord Unit and a licensing scheme covering much
of the city.

View Full Article: Bristol landlord fined for housing a family in shop storage space