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BTL landlord fined more than £1,600 for assaulting a council officer

A private landlord in Doncaster has been found guilty of pushing a council officer down stairs during an inspection of his rented property.

A court heard that Brian Goodwin of Thealby Gardens, DN4, prevented two City of Lincoln Council private housing officers from carrying out their legal duty to determine whether his property was safe to licence by the council as a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) in July last year.

During the officers’ inspection of the house on Union Road in Lincoln, the landlord told both officers to vacate the property before assaulting one of them which prevented them from continuing their safety inspection.

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The court was told that Goodwin seized one of the officers from behind in a bear hug before attempting to physically kick him out of the property, which led to the officer being forcefully pushed down the stairs.

City of Lincoln Council prosecuted the landlord as agents for the Crown Prosecution Service following a police investigation into the assault and battery, which resulted in grazed and bruised elbows, as well as abdominal bruising.

Goodwin was also ordered to pay a fine of more than £1,600 for assaulting the officer, along with £50 in compensation to the official he had assaulted.   

Sara Boothright, environmental health & corporate safety manager at City of Lincoln Council, commented: “We are pleased with the magistrates’ verdict and happy that justice has been served. Under the circumstances, it was the right and proper outcome. The landlord’s behaviour was completely unacceptable and these prosecutions send out a strong message that we do not tolerate this kind of behaviour against our staff.

“The bench increased the fine because Mr Goodwin’s actions were directed at representatives of the council who were in the course of carrying out their duties. The prosecutions highlight the importance of treating our staff with respect and letting them carry out our safety inspections.”

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    Thick stupid council worker probably deserved it. How do i know? Because all council workers are thick.

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    Thick stupid council worker probably deserved it. How do i know? Because all council workers are thick.

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    The comments by Steve Sykes are deeply offensive and idiotic. If he is a landlord then he is the sort that give us professional landlords a bad name.

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    £50 compo=trivial injuries

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    What are you basing your facts on?.
    I am.basing my facts on the fact that most councils employees are thick. Do you know the full story?
    You sir are a twit and i challenge you to state why you are more a professional LL than i am. So you think council workers are not thick? Do you agree to them charging you 100% council tax without a discount when one of your properties becomes vacant and you have to refurb due to being trashed by the last tenant, yet when you put a single tenant in they discount council tax by 25% and the council worker cannot explain why.
    Or how about the HMO licenced paid for for 5 years on a property that is part of a council block where they dont impose the same rules and regs on their Properties.
    How about when they say to your tenant, do not move out until an eviction notice is served costing you as a professional LL thousands of pounds. Or how about the largest LL in the UK responsible for the largest number of deaths in a single block of flats. I can go on.
    How about if you stupidly take on a UC tenant and the council dont pay you for several wks or months and then claw your rent back when the find out your tenant told them porky pies. Can go on but being a professional LL i have important matters to deal with, Like sorting out a tenants problem within 24 hours of being told.

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    • 01 July 2019 22:03 PM

    There are vast numbers of idiotic LL who simply haven't a clue what they are doing.
    As for council workers I concur entirely.
    They are thick.
    They don't even understand their own guidance manuals.
    I am dealing with thick Harlow JC staff that don't understand how to process a valid HB claim correctly.
    Am at Stage 1 complaint currently though god knows what that means!!!
    But they are thick and that includes the manager who should know better.
    No wonder LL prefer not to deal with thick council staff.
    So no DSS tenants because of incompetent and fraudster staff!

     
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    Couldn’t agree more Steve I detest local councils and the culture they operate 18 months to get planning through on 12 flats and they wanted a bung of 98k for the privilege. They are a cancer in our country

     
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