A De Montfort University lecturer has been fined after pleading guilty to renting flats to students without the appropriate licence.
Dr Obas Ebohon (58), of Scraptoft Lane, Leicester, appeared at Leicester Magistrates' Court on Friday charged with four offences related a house he owns, in Severn Street, Highfields, which he rented to seven tenants.
The respected academic, who is a reader in Energy and Sustainable Development at DMU and has given lectures all over the world, pleaded guilty to failing to apply for a multiple occupation licence for the property, and failing to display his telephone number and address clearly at the house.
The life member of the South African Institute of Building also pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the boundary walls of the house were safely maintained, and failing to ensure the property's windows and ventilation were maintained to a safe standard.
Leicester City Council prosecutor Nicki Agalamanyi told the court Ebohon had been reported to the authority by one of his tenants, who suspected he did not poses the relevant housing licence.
Ms Agalamanyi said: "The main issue is the failure to have a licence for the property.
"It has to be licensed by the council and requires regular inspections by environmental health officers.
"When the property was inspected, officers found faulty fixtures and fittings, a fire door which didn't close or provide a safe means of escape.
"Cracked plaster on the ceiling, a faulty lock on the front door, one shower wasn't working and another shower was blocked.
"An outside wall was falling down and one of the bedrooms had a cracked door frame and another had a cracked window frame and cracked glazing."
Ebohon's solicitor, Shabir Mirza, said that some of the damage had been caused by the students themselves, and stressed that his client had done everything that was asked as soon as the faults were brought to his attention.
He said: "It's a sorry state of affairs but my client did everything required of him as soon as he was told he needed to do it.
"Straightaway he said, 'what needs to be done, I'll do'.
"Football had been played in the garden which caused the fence panels to break and the doors were damaged by the students.
Mr Mirza added: "He has suffered from anxiety and depression as a result of everything that has happened.
"Any sort of a sentence would severely affect his career at the university."
He said Ebohon was under the impression that the letting agent, IPS Leicester, was responsible for the upkeep of the house.
Ebohon was fined £1,500 for failing to apply for a housing licence, and £500 for failing to display his contact information at the property.
Magistrates gave the academic a conditional discharge for the other two offences related to the building's maintenance.
Magistrate Beverlie Cemmel said: "As someone who supervises students you should have been aware of all aspects of their welfare."
Ebohon was also ordered to pay £1,025 towards the council's court costs and a £120 victim surcharge.
A £500 House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licence is required by all landlords who rent to at least three people who are not from the same household.
The terms of the licence state that the landlord must make sure the home is suitable for the number of occupants and safe to live in.
Speaking after the case, Leicester assistant city mayor for neighbourhood services Councillor Sarah Russell said: "The laws around multiple-occupancy homes exist to protect and safeguard the people living there, and unscrupulous owners leave themselves open to prosecution if they fail to license HMOs properly."
The property's managing agents, IPS Leicester, have pleaded not guilty to seven charges in relation to the case, and will appear in court again on January 15 for trial.
