Man fined £39k and banned from being landlord over safety
A MAN has been fined nearly £40,000 and received a ban from being a landlord after council inspectors uncovered a shocking catalogue of safety violations.
Dean Dunkley, 41, had 15 tenants living in dangerous conditions above AJ’s Bar in Dunchurch Road, Rugby.
During the August 2016 inspection, a housing enforcement officer discovered a host of safety issues, including faulty fire doors, broken electric sockets, holes in windows and a fridge obstructing an emergency exit.
Other issues included a communal kitchen with no fire detection, broken emergency lighting and a WC with no door.
Following the inspection, the officer contacted Dunkley to ask who had responsibility for managing the property.
He replied: “It’s your job to find out.”
Dunkley also failed to attend an interview under caution with the council, and failed to produce gas and electricity safety certificates, and a fire detection alarm certificate, for the property.
The inspection was ordered after Dunkley was prosecuted in April last year after pleading guilty to 25 breaches of the Housing Act 2004.
Despite several warnings he failed to repair any of damage highlighted by inspectors and was fined nearly £5,000.
At the time of the August inspection, Dunkley was collecting more than £800 per week in rent from the tenants who were living in ten rooms. His case was heard in his absence at Nuneaton Justice Centre on Tuesday, May 2. Dunkley, 41, of Dunchurch Road, was found guilty of all 19 charges and was fined a total of £39,000 - including £8,000 fines for operating a HMO without a licence and obstructing the council’s investigation.
He was also ordered to pay £2,264 costs and a £170 victim surcharge.
Magistrates also granted the council’s application to issue Dunkley with a Criminal Behaviour Order which bans him from being involved in letting or managing a residential property for rent in the borough until May 2019.
In addition, the order states Dunkley must secure permission from the council before appointing an agent to let or manage a residential property on his behalf.
Speaking after the hearing, Sean Lawson, Rugby Borough Council’s head of environment and public realm, said: “We’re happy to work with landlords to explain the legislation surrounding HMOs and offer advice on work which needs to be carried out in order for a property to meet safety standards.
“But our priority has to be the safety of tenants and, when a landlord shows complete contempt for the law, we have no hesitation in taking the case to court.
“The severity of the fines imposed by magistrates in this case, together with the issuing of a Criminal Behaviour Order, shows no landlord can afford to cut corners when it comes to ensuring the safety of tenants.”
Our priority has to be the safety of tenants and when a landlord shows contempt for the law we have no hesitation in taking the case to court. Sean Lawson