SOISSONS, France, May 3 (UPI) -- A landlord in Soissons, France, was convicted of renting unsanitary rooms -- deemed unfit for habitation -- to vulnerable tenants, prosecutors said.
The landlord offered rooms for rent behind his restaurant that had unsafe wiring, a "festering stench" and, in some cases no windows, and communal use of a toilet in a backyard garden. He was charging tenants 200 euros -- about $260 -- per month, the French news website The Local reported Friday.
The prosecution said the unidentified landlord "played with the dignity of the tenants," six people between the ages of 40 and 77, and living on welfare benefits, court records said.
The landlord received a two-year suspended sentence, was fined about $6,500 and an ordered to pay more than $1,300 to the tenants, The Local said.
Lawyer Michael Lefevre-Franquet defended his client's action, saying after the trial, "He has always been there for those people, who, if it weren't for him, would be living on the street."
