Sheffield landlord fined for state of house rented to city family

Mohammed Fathy Mohamed Khalifa was prosecuted for failing to act on notices issued after his property fell into serious disrepair.

He was ordered to pay almost £5,000 in fines and court costs on top of almost £6,000 to cover the cost of repair work carried out by Sheffield Council on safety grounds.

The court heard Khalifa, of Briar Lea Close in Sinfin, Derby, rents out a property in Grimesthorpe to a family with two children.

Sheffield Council's private housing standards team was called in to investigate after the children became unwell and concerns were raised about the condition of their house.

Serious defects were found with the gas and electricity in the house and the boiler was not working.

Sheffield magistrates heard that Khalifa was asked to carry out improvement work on a number of occasions but failed to.

The city council carried out work and magistrates ordered Khalifa to repay the cost.

Councillor Jayne Dunn, cabinet member for housing at Sheffield Council, said: “The landlord was clearly failing in his duties and I’m glad he is paying the price for being irresponsible.

“We are prosecuting more people than ever and we will continue until landlords get the message that we will not accept unlawful behaviour in Sheffield. I hope the large number of good landlords in our city see that we are tackling the minority that tarnish the whole sector.”