Rogue landlord who rented out flats without hot water or lighting hit with £20,000 fine

A rogue landlord who repeatedly let out an unsafe house has been hit with a £20,000 fine. Demetirous Georgiou defied an emergency order banning him from renting out the property in George Street South, Salford, due to its poor state.

Housing officers from Salford City Council found fire doors were not up to standard and the fire alarm and detection systems and escape routes were still unsafe three years after Mr Georgiou was ordered to complete the work. Every flat at the property had been rented out, in breach of the emergency order.

At one point the whole building was left without power for cooking, hot water and lighting. Mr Georgiou, of George Street South, Higher Broughton, and Woodlands Avenue, Whitefield, has now been convicted of failing to comply with an Improvement Notice and breaching an Emergency Prohibition order.

READ MORE: Andy Burnham says he "can't believe" the Government is still trying to charge drivers in Clean Air Zone scheme

He failed to attend Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court and the case was proved in his absence yesterday. In addition to the hefty fine, magistrates ordered him to pay £4,700 in costs and a £181 victim surcharge.

The court heard that the three-storey building at George Street South had been converted into five self-contained one-bedroomed flats, each with a kitchen and bathroom and a further ground floor flat without a bathroom. The basement had also been converted into a separate flat with its own entrance.

The property was added to a list of pro-active inspections and a housing standards officer from Salford City Council visited in May 2016. She was concerned about a lack of fire detection equipment in one of the flats and secured a warrant to gain access to all the