Shocking images reveal life inside a squalid Westcliff flat - which led to the owner getting a £100,000 fine in court.

Babatunde Arise, 54 who owns 40 Satanita Road in Westcliff and letting agent Bromwell UK Ltd were slapped with fines of £109,000 after Southend Council investigated and found a vast number of faults and failings.

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Images reveal broken doors and windows, unsafe electric works, various damp areas and other issues deemed dangerous by council bosses.

Arise was found guilty and was fined £88,976 following conviction for 17 failures over management of Houses in Multiple Occupation.

He appealed against the sentence given by the court and the appeal was heard at Basildon Crown Court and the court upheld the original sentencing and dismissed the appeal, with the judge commenting that the house was in a shocking state and an insult to society that the landlord was allowing people to live there.

Arise was given nine months to pay the £85,000 fine, £6,818.50 costs and a £181 victim surcharge.

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The second operator – the letting agent – originally sought and was granted an adjournment to enter a not guilty plea and a trial was set for Friday 26 June 2020.

On 1 December 2020, Mr Jaiyesimi - the director which represented the letting company Bromwell UK Ltd - was found guilty for failing to comply with 17 counts of Houses in Multiple Occupation Management.

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On Tuesday 5 January, Bromwell UK Ltd was sentenced at Southend Magistrates Court to fines totalling £10,000, with council costs of £7,311 and victim surcharge of £181.

Combined costs for the freeholder and the letting agent total £109,491.

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Some of the failures include:

• Failure to ensure all escape routes of the property were kept clear of obstruction - the kitchen and hallways were obstructed, and the manager had not maintained the 30-minute fire protected escape route

• The manager had failed to inspect and test the electrical installation, the test certificate being 12 months overdue

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• The property had been poorly maintained, including damp external rendering, defective guttering, boarded up windows, window joints held together with tape, leaking pipes, uneven flooring and debris and litter on the kitchen floor and worktops

• Management had failed to ensure all outbuildings were maintained, with the rear shed collapsed, and ivy restricting access to the front door

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• Failure to provide sufficient bins or other suitable provisions for refuse storage with no evidence of any waste/recycling arrangements.

Ian Gilbert, leader of the council with a responsibility for housing, said: “This property was in quite frankly appalling condition. The property owner and letting agent were putting those that lived there in an incredibly dangerous position. 

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“This substantial fine is one of the largest we have seen for some time, and it emphasises the importance of providing good quality and safe housing for all of our residents.

"All landlords have a responsibility to their tenants. If anyone has concerns regarding the properties they rent, they should contact their landlords in the first instance. If nothing changes, I urge them to contact our Private Sector Housing team.”