Prosecutors want jail time for a man who ran five dirty, overcrowded boarding houses in the city's north last year.
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But the barrister representing Qiang Hua Fan, also known as Jason Fan, is expected to argue fines would be an appropriate punishment for his client.
Fan pleaded guilty in the ACT Magistrates Court yesterday to five counts of carrying out a public health risk activity - specifically running a boarding house - without a licence. He has also admitted allowing unsanitary conditions to exist at one of the properties, in Macquarie, with other charges expected to be included on a schedule.
The defence had previously pleaded not guilty to all charges, including an allegation of unsanitary conditions at a house in Downer which they continue to deny.
The court heard the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions will seek a custodial sentence for Fan. ''The prosecution case is that in relation to the five houses it was a highly profitable commercial enterprise,'' prosecutor Margaret Jones said.
But Fan's barrister, Ken Archer, said the key consideration during sentencing his client for the boarding house charges was simply that Fan did not have a licence, rather than the nature of the financial arrangements between landlord and tenants.
Authorities swooped on five houses owned either by Fan or his ex-wife, Li Wei, in July last year.
The Government took more than 100 tenants into emergency accommodation and shut down the private rental properties in Melba, Scullin, Macquarie, Downer and Ngunnawal.
It was alleged the living conditions were filthy, and the houses had been subjected to illegal alterations and shoddy wiring.
In relation to the most serious charge before the court the landlord faces a maximum penalty of six months jail or a $5500 fine.
Fan is due to reappear for a sentencing hearing in March.