Nation.Cymru staff
A landlord who rented out flats despite orders prohibiting anyone from living in them has been ordered to pay more than £3,500.
Said Moussef, 67, the freeholder and landlord of 105 Kings Road in Riverside, Cardiff, admitted six charges at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court on October 9.
The offences included breaching two prohibition orders, failing to register rented property and managing it without the required Rent Smart Wales licence.
An investigation followed a complaint received in March this year. Officers found the first and second-floor flats occupied despite the orders remaining in force and the required work not having been completed.
Mr Moussef told officers under caution that he had re-let the flats in October and November 2025.
An inspection identified an inadequate fire alarm system, incomplete or defective fire doors, damp, trip and fall hazards, and concerns about the layout of the second-floor flat.
Residents of the first-floor flat also had no control over their heating. It was supplied by a boiler in the ground-floor flat, which they could not access.
Checks with Rent Smart Wales confirmed that the flats were not registered and Mr Moussef was not licensed to manage them.
He was fined £1,520 for the registration and licensing offences and £476 for breaching the prohibition orders. He was also ordered to pay £750 in council costs and a £763 victim surcharge, bringing the total to £3,509.
Cllr Lynda Thorne, Cardiff Council’s cabinet member for housing and communities, said: “In this case, the property was not registered, and the landlord was not licensed to manage it. Flats had also been re-let despite Prohibition Orders remaining in place.
“While private sector landlords make an invaluable contribution to Cardiff’s housing stock, the Council will act where landlords fail to meet their legal responsibilities and put tenants at risk.”
She said details of the prosecution had been sent to Rent Smart Wales to consider whether Mr Moussef was a fit and proper person to be licensed to manage his rented properties in Cardiff.
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