Sheffield landlord ordered to pay £29k over scores of offences in homes across city
John Cashin, age 47, of Over Lane, Baslow, was found guilty of a series of offences concerning five homes he rented out in Abbeydale Road, Abbeydale; Violet Bank Road, Nether Edge; Vincent Road, Sharrow and Fieldhead Road and Glover Road in Lowfield.
Sheffield magistrates heard they were all badly managed by Cashin, who failed to maintain the means of escape and fire alarm systems in all the properties.
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Hide AdCashin also failed to provide copies of gas safety and electrical condition reports.
Other problems included broken windows and badly fitting external doors.
All but the Vincent Road property should have been licensed with Sheffield Council as houses of multiple occupancy, but no applications were ever received.
Magistrates heard that Cashin, who was fined £7,200 for 27 offences last November, ignored council requests for information and documents.
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Hide AdDeputy District Judge, Paul Heeley, said Cashin had been evasive, failed to disclose information and that his evidence was not credible.
He said Cashin deliberately set out to avoid his responsibilities.
“The weakest in society are the ones that suffer ill-health, serious injury and even death through poor housing conditions," the judge added.
Speaking after the court case, one former tenant, Yasmin Wong, who lived in Cashin’s property in Glover Road,earlier this year, said: “The guy ruined my life. It was horrible and the house was a complete disaster - three or four windows were broken so it was completely freezing. And there were times when we had no electricity for three or four days and he didn’t care.
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Hide Ad“I was alone and didn’t have anyone in Sheffield or know what to do. In the end I left. It was two months of hell.”
Councillor Jayne Dunn, Sheffield Council's cabinet member for housing, said: “I want to congratulate officers for their tenacity in bringing this rogue landlord to court again and obtaining this fantastic outcome. Thanks to Cashin, dozens of mainly vulnerable tenants were living in dangerous and inadequate housing and he had a complete disregard to them and their safety.
“This is the biggest case we’ve ever had in terms of the number of offences and sends a strong message to landlords that flout their responsibilities."
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