Rogue landlord's makeshift homes in Premier shop saw kids sleep inside cupboards
A landlord has been banned from letting properties after two families were found living in makeshift homes at the back of a Premier store in Bristol.
Deepak Singh Sashdeva was fined £87,000 in May last year and found guilty of five offences relating to the failure to manage a house in multiple occupation. The court ruled it was a ‘serious risk to life’.
He has now been given a four-year ban after inspectors returned to the property only to find someone still living there, in breach of a Prohibition Order imposed on the shop.
Nine people were originally found living in the makeshift homes at the back of the shop, which had been constructed in the store room among piles of stock.
Two children were among the families and were found to be sleeping in cupboards.
When inspectors from Bristol City Council discovered the properties they described them as some of the worst living conditions they had ever seen.
Imposing the ban Judge J Dobson said: “The respondent was a rogue landlord who had failed by a large margin to meet his legal obligations and who had exploited the occupiers by providing substandard and dangerous accommodation.”
He will be added to the Government’s Rogue Landlord Database. If he breaches the banning order he could be prosecuted and the penalty, if found guilty, includes imprisonment.
“Bristol City Council works hard to protect people renting property in Bristol against rogue landlords and property agents,” said Cllr Helen Godwin, the city council’s cabinet member for housing.
“We will use all the powers available to us to stop people who flout the law from renting properties illegally,” she added.
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