A banning order has been granted against a landlord in Cambridge who was found guilty of "failing to comply with legal instruction to keep his tenants safe.".

The landlord was prosecuted for failure to comply with an improvement notice served on him by Cambridge council for poor housing conditions which included lack of heating and inadequate fire precautions in an HMO in the city and he is now banned from letting property both in Cambridge and in the rest of England for a period of 30 months. The banning order also covers letting agency work and property management. The council has also placed him on the rogue landlord database so that other local authorities across the country will be able to prevent him from engaging in residential letting work in their areas.

If the landlord fails to comply with the order he could serve a prison term of up to 51 weeks and/or face a court fine of up to £30,000.

Cllr. Mike Todd Jones, executive councillor for housing, said the case demonstrated that the council "will use all the powers available to stop criminal landlords from operating in Cambridge".