Landlord fined £50k for renting 11 “unsafe” flats

Eleven self-contained flats were found at the 173 City Road

 A landlord has been fined more than £50,000 after it was discovered he was renting out 11 flats in one property without the correct planning permission.

Mohammed Abdul Kowsor Choudhury, from Cyncoed, and his company, Pine Best Ltd rented out flats at a three storey Victorian property on 173 City Road.

Eleven self-contained flats were found at the property - despite there only being planning permission for six.

The case was heard at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court on June 16 where Choudhury was fined a total of £54,000 and ordered to pay a further £10,000 in costs.

These are not the first issues relating to Choudury and this property.

In March 2018, officers from Shared Regulatory Services visited the property and discovered 11 flats.

At that time, an Emergency Prohibition Order was made for each flat due to the extremely poor fire safety precautions, which meant that the properties could no longer be occupied, as they were deemed to be unsafe, according to Cardiff Council.

In 2019, South Wales Fire & Rescue Service prosecuted Choudhury for failure to comply with an enforcement notice to carry out essential work on these flats. He was then fined £50,000, ordered to pay £10,000 in costs and was given a suspended prison sentence.

In October 2022, reports were received that the flats were being rented out again and the works required by the Emergency Prohibition Orders had not been carried out.

A further investigation was launched, followed by several hearings in court.

In July 2024, Choudhury and his company pleaded guilty to all the offences and the case was heard at Cardiff Magistrates Court on 16 June 2025.

The court was advised of Mr Choudhury’s previous conviction for this property, as well as other previous convictions and the fact that he had continued to re-let flats at the property as they became vacant.

District Judge Christopher James stated that he considered Choudhury’s failure to comply with the enforcement notices as a deliberate attempt to “gain profit from people that were desperate for housing, with rents in the region of £600 a month per flat.”

He described Choudhury as “flagrantly and deliberately ignoring legislation and legal requirement in relation to these properties” and added that Choudhury’s business was “a vehicle created by the defendant for the purpose of presenting an enterprise of legitimacy”.

Cllr Lynda Thorne, Cabinet Member for Housing & Communities said: “This property has been a significant concern for many years now and hopefully Mr Choudhury now understands what he has to do to ensure that he can rent his property out legally, in line with all legislation required.

“The majority of private sector landlords provide a good service to their tenants, but unfortunately there are some that don’t have any regard at all. Unfortunately, its landlords like Mr Choudhury who, as the judge said, flagrantly ignore legislation and bring the sector into disrepute.”