A property landlord has been fined for putting students’ safety at risk in a house close to Bradford University.

The 11-bedroomed house in Claremont Villas, owned by Enus Miah, 41, had sewage running into the back garden when Bradford Council environmental health officers inspected it last April, magistrates heard.

Miah, of Springfield Place, Manningham, Bradford, was fined £2,500 at Bradford Magistrates’ Court yesterday after pleading guilty to five charges relating to his failure to ensure the property was safe for habitation.

Prosecuting on behalf of the Council, Harjit Ryatt said there were no signs to advise tenants of escape routes in the case of a fire, one of the bedrooms in the basement was too badly lit to be occupied and the structure and appliances within the property were not in a good state of repair.

Bedrooms had too few electrical sockets meaning tenants were overloading extension cables which increased the risk of fire.

A fridge was obstructing the safe use of an oven in one kitchen, there was evidence of fresh rodent droppings and a basin in a bathroom discharged water into the well of a shower, he said.

Miah rents out one other property in Bradford and three more in Richmond, North Yorkshire, the court heard. He said: “I did put all the (fire safety) signs up but the tenants took them down.

“I put in a manager to look after the property but after six months he had to leave and I couldn’t find anyone else to come in. I had to work for someone else and I didn’t have enough time.”

The court heard that Miah had since carried out all the necessary work to bring the property up to scratch and it was satisfactorily re-visited by inspectors last week.

Magistrates had the power to fine Miah £5,000 for each charge but chairman of the bench Peter Holmes said he took into account Miah’s early guilty pleas and that the failings had now been addressed, and decided to fine him primarily for the sewage offence. Miah was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £1,710 and a £15 victim surcharge.

After the case Liam Jowett, Bradford Council’s housing standards manager, said: “The level of the fine and award for costs shows how important it is for landlords to take their duties and responsibilities towards their property seriously.

“If they fail to maintain their property to a reasonable standard and are not prepared to act on the advice given to them by environmental health officers, then they can be taken to court and suffer serious financial penalties.”