Manchester Landlord Given £41,000 Fine

This week, a Manchester based landlords called Lay Heng Chhung, has been charged over claims of renting out flats with potentially deadly flaws and has been fined over £41,000.


According to reports, Chhung’s properties had missing fire extinguishers and smoke detectors, which will definitely have been needed as many of the electrical sockets were overheating and even letting off smoke in some cases.


The conditions were so bad that the tenants have had to be re-housed until a time at which the properties are in a suitable living standard and not potentially lethal to the inhabitants. In total Mr Chhung admitted to 13 offences in court, the majority of which were in relation to housing standards, but he also faced charges on the grounds of not having the correct licenses for owning the rented properties.
 


When faced with the defendant, District Judge, Jonathan Taaffe, told Mr Chhung “This is not an isolated incident. You took a cavalier attitude to the properties, which could have lead to or have contributed to death or serious injury.”

The Judge then issued Mr Chhung with the £41,000 fine and issued payments of £2,000 per month.

Given the state of the properties and the grounds of the fine, Mr Chhung will not be able to claim on his landlord insurance for any of the money and will most likely be unable to rebuild his property business in the future.