A LANDLORD who allowed tenants to live in shabby accommodation has been ordered to pay more than £4,000 in fines and costs.

A catalogue of problems was found at the flat in Abbotsbury Road, Wey-mouth, prompting the borough council to declare the property unsafe for occupation.

But landlord Alistair Gordon later moved new tenants into the same property – a poorly-converted conservatory – putting him in breach of a prohibition order.

Gordon pleaded guilty to breaching the order at Weymouth Magistrate’s Court and was fined £2,500 as well as having to pay a £15 victim surcharge. He was also ordered to pay court costs of £1,784.38.

The court was told a borough council environmental health officer declared the ground floor flat at 115 Abbotsbury Road unsafe for occupation in November 2008, and Gordon was issued with the prohibition order.

Problems discovered included: * No provision for heating in the living room and bedroom.

* Hand wash basin in the bathroom not connected to waste pipe.

* Inadequate ventilation in bathroom.

* Bathroom door and frame missing.

* Inadequate provision for storage of food.

* Insufficient space for oven in kitchen (a small cooker was provided on top of a fridge with the potential to fall on occupants and cause serious burns).

* No windows or ventilation to the flat other than the front door.

* Clear corrugated plastic sheeting was the only roof covering for living and bedroom areas.

The court was further told the council was made aware the flat was being occupied in February 2010 after receiving information from Dorset Fire and Rescue Service.

An environmental health officer visited and found Mr Gordon at the premises with his business partner Ralph Ricardo.

The officer saw the conservatory was being occupied, in breach of the order.

Gordon admitted in interview that tenants had moved in during July 2009.

Magistrates heard Gordon had previously been convicted for a similar offence earlier this year in Somerset after he continued to let a property which had been declared unfit for occupation without adequate fire safety measures to 13 people, two of whom were children.

Weymouth and Portland Borough Council spokesman for community safety Ian James said: “The council takes its duty to protect residents very seriously and I am proud of our no-nonsense approach to landlords who are found to be putting public safety at risk.

“I am pleased that justice has been served in a situation where serious negligence has obviously been the order of the day for quite some time.

“I hope this sends out the message that unscrupulous landlords who break the law will not be tolerated.”

A statement released on behalf of Gordon said: ‘The breach arose from misunderstanding guidelines advised by environmental health officers.

‘‘Alistair works hard to provide first step accommodation for people in need, he takes no deposits or rent in advance from tenants and helps in areas other landlords would not.

“Mistakes have been made along the way, for which he is sorry and pays a heavy price.”