Sheffield to continue clamping down on rogue landlords

Sheffield council has pledged to carry on with its campaign to throw the book at rogue landlords, after successfully prosecuting its highest ever number of individuals and companies for various housing offences in November, with seven successful prosecutions. A number of landlords were deemed ‘not fit and proper’ and will not be granted with a licence by the council as a result.

The rogues who were prosecuted included Mark Cashin, who was ordered to pay fines and costs of £29,200 after being found guilty of a whopping 56 offences.

These include failure to supply gas safety certificates, fire alarms and fire escape signs, failure to ensure common areas were maintained, failure to install adequate fire doors. His properties were also found to have broken windows, severe damp, and holes in the ceilings.

Following his convictions, Cashin continued to maintain his innocence and insists that he will appeal his sentence – he believes that the council have targeted his specifically and blames others for some of the problems with his properties.

Sheffield council have made it clear that they are not on a campaign to attack landlords who are playing by the rules, instead that are only looking to single out the landlords who might be taking advantage of tenants who might not know exactly what they can expect from their rental agreement.