Second fine in 12 months for landlord not providing p...

Sheffield council has prosecuted a rogue landlord for a second time after he was failing to provide appropriate documentation to a tenant.

Telford-based landlord Gunes Ata, 48, failed to provide certified information to a tenant about service charges for a residential building in Sheffield of which he is the landlord.

A statement from the council says Ata’s management practice was “deemed to have fallen short of the standard required in law and those of a reasonable landlord.”

Ata was ordered to pay £1,982 made up of £862 costs to the council, a fine of £800 and a £320 court surcharge.

It is the second time Ata has been prosecuted for failing to provide information to tenants in less than a year.

He was prosecuted in 2022 for failing to provide information about the insurance of the building he owns at Printworks, Sheffield.

In court, the barrister representing Ata, blamed the failing on a software error.

The prosecution told the court that the council had written to Ata three times, but he had failed to supply certified information.

A council statement continues: “It is a criminal offence for landlords not to provide information about service charges and insurance when it is properly requested, and the local authority has powers to prosecute these kinds of offences. This prosecution was brought under section 25 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.”

And a council spokesperson adds: “This is another example of the city council using the law to bring about a successful court prosecution and, on this occasion, someone who has been prosecuted before. It is our duty to protect tenants from landlords who do not abide by the law.”

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Robert Brown
07 August 2023 14:13 PM

Heavy fines just lead to heavier rent increases.

Fines should be for serious safety issues, not wrong paperwork.

Just imagine if you were fined for every grammatical or factual error you perpetrate, Sandra!

Unfortunately your above statement is untrue as this article is clear evidence that on some rare occasions some landlords do not provide the right paperwork.

Whether or not tenants are or are not just cash cows who stop moaning is irrelevant to the case in question.

Perhaps your lack of the correct grammar has led me to misunderstand whatever points you are trying and failing to make?