Landlord facing prosecution for housing 18 tenants in dangerous property

A landlord is facing prosecution for failing to comply with various HMO regulations. 

For the last two days, Paul Turner has appeared before magistrates at Boston Magistrates' Court facing seven counts of fire safety failings and 15 charges for HMO failures.

Turner is accused of running an HMO without a licence and the property housed 18 people - some as young as one year old - when police visited last year.

According to Lincolnshire Live, Turner denied the claim, saying he was actually running a hotel where guests were not living as tenants.

The fire safety failings range from cutting a hole in the ceiling for electrical cables to provide electricity for a hob and failing to provide a sufficient number of usable electrical sockets.

There was also a fridge freezer placed in front of a fire exit door, completely obscuring the exit.

Graham Almack, a fire safety officer, told the court that after inspection last February he deemed there to be a serious and imminent risk of fire at the property.

"Extension leads were plugged into main sockets leading to rooms used as power supply," he told the court.

"There was no door on the kitchen. The fire alarms did not work and it is my understanding the fire exit door blocked by the freezer chest was screwed shut.

"Some residents said their equipment kept tripping so the power supply was overloaded," Almack added.