Firm hit by £21,000 bill for safety failings

When Leeds City Council officers made a routine visit to Gathorne Terrace, Chapeltown, Leeds, in August they discovered a defective fire alarm system, seriously damaged fire doors, broken windows, exposed electrical wiring, staircases without handrails, broken glazing and damaged kitchen units.

Safety certificates were also absent, and tenants were left without heating when Southwind Developments Ltd – which owns more than a dozen rental properties in the Leeds area – failed to pay a gas bill.

Southwind directors Saleem Aslam and Zulfiqar Ahmed have now pleaded guilty to nine breaches of the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006 regarding the conditions of the house.

They were fined a total of 17,015 and ordered to pay 4,476 in costs to the council in a case before Leeds magistrates.

Officers from the council discovered the lapses during a routine visit.

After notifying Southwind Developments about the conditions, officials returned only to find the property was in the same condition. Tenants said they were left without heating and hot water after Southwind failed to pay the gas bill.

The property firm blamed the condition of the property on the tenants but magistrates said that it was the responsibility of the owners to maintain it.

After the case, Councillor Peter Gruen, Leeds City Council's executive board member for housing, said: "Blaming tenants is not an answer – it is a landlord's responsibility to look after their property.

"I hope the size of this fine sends out a very clear message that conditions such as these are simply unacceptable."