A LANDLORD left six people to live in a dangerously dilapidated house as a matter of "principle".

Mahendra Shah refused to fix broken fire alarms, exposed wiring and damaged plug sockets at the home because he claims Croydon Council owes him £40,000 in rent arrears.

The 60-year-old, who charged his tenants £85 per week, spoke to the Advertiser after being prosecuted for obstructing builders sent to make urgent repairs to the squalid property.

But, when confronted with photographic evidence of the condition of the house in Trafford Road, Thornton Heath, he claimed there was "nothing wrong" with it.

The landlord, from Upwood Road, Norbury, said: "It was an acceptable standard of living and I would have lived there myself, definitely.

"I would have been happy for my daughters to live there."

Yet, as Mr Shah freely admits, he refused to make repairs because some of the housing benefits paid to tenants in his 23 Croydon properties were not being passed on to him as rent.

He explained: "It was a principle. What should I have done?

"If they do not pay me the money what choice do I have?

"If [the council] pay me directly I do not have any dispute with them.

"I want the rent to be paid and then it would be my duty to repair the property."

The saga began in 2008, when police received a complaint about the property in Trafford Road being overcrowded and in a state of disrepair.

A council environmental health officer called at the house and collected photographic evidence of broken electrical fittings, boarded up windows and a lack of adequate fire escapes.

Mr Shah was subsequently served with notices to improve the house and, when he did not comply, the council called in a contractor to do the work.

When Mr Shah discovered workmen at the property he threw them out and ripped away a fire door they had managed to install.

As a result, the landlord was taken to Croydon Magistrates' Court and pleaded guilty to obstruction, resulting in a fine of £1,800 and costs of £4,500.

Despite the conviction and the photographic evidence, Mr Shah remains unrepentant.

He explained: "At the time the council inspected the property there was damage to the doors and to the windows but the sockets and the electrics were fine. The tenants never complained to me.

"I am not a bad landlord. If I am a bad landlord then why do people come to me and say 'Mr Shah, please find me a home'?"

A spokesman for Croydon Council said: "We can safely say that we do not owe Mr Shah £40,000.

"There are no outstanding claims and, even if there were, that would not be a reason to leave his property in a state of disrepair that could endanger the lives of his tenants."