Lincoln landlord fined £405k over state of squalid flats

Flats owned by Bijan Keshmiri were so filthy they were "not cleanable due to years of neglect"

A landlord has been fined £405,000 after he left his tenants to live in "appalling" conditions.

Bijan Keshmiri, 59, from Lincoln, was handed the penalty by the city's magistrates after admitting 28 charges.

Tenants were living in dangerous and squalid flats deemed "not cleanable due to years of neglect", City of Lincoln Council said.

The fine is believed to be one of the biggest ever handed out to an "individual rogue landlord", it added.

Keshmiri, of Wragby Road, admitted failing to comply with fire, health and safety standards at two properties in Lincoln which had been converted into flats.

There was black mould throughout one of the properties

Tenants in one flat were at risk of catching Legionnaires' disease because of an exposed hot water supply tank

One of Keshmiri's properties had black mould throughout and no fire exits.

Another had an exposed hot water supply tank without a lid which put the tenants at risk of legionella bacteria infection, the council said.

Magistrates described the properties as being "a fire hazard" when he was sentenced on Monday, according to the authority.

Council leader Ric Metcalfe said: "It's pleasing to see justice has been served against this offender who has, time and time again, exploited his tenants by making them live in appalling conditions, surrounded by many fire and health hazards."