A Severn landlord who has infuriated community leaders and Health Department inspectors by refusing to make repairs to units on one of Anne Arundel County's most crime-ridden streets agreed yesterday to board up his properties and try to sell them.

In a consent order filed with the District Court yesterday, Mohammad Zuberi, who owns 30 properties on Arwell Court, agreed to evict his tenants from the Pioneer City street by January or face daily fines. He also said that if he couldn't sell the properties, he would not attempt to rent them until he makes all necessary repairs.

Since the Anne Arundel County Health Department sued Zuberi in June for having more than 1,000 health and safety violations in the homes, the Ellicott City resident has gradually allowed many of the units to become vacant. He has said repeatedly in court that he could not afford to fix the violations, which ranged from rotting wood and peeling paint to missing electric socket covers and rodent infestations.

A hearing on the repairs was scheduled for yesterday before Judge Vincent A. Mulieri in District Court. However, Zuberi didn't attend the hearing. Instead, he and his attorney, Richard Rosenblatt, worked out the consent order with Assistant County Attorney Howard P. Nicholson late Wednesday. If Zuberi doesn't board up the properties by Jan. 15, he could face daily fines of up to $1,000.

Rosenblatt said his client would make "every reasonable effort" to comply with the order. He said most of Zuberi's tenants aren't paying anyway, and that Zuberi, who filed for bankruptcy four years ago, would like to sell the properties and recoup his losses.

"It's no advantage to him to keep property vacant, because he's still responsible for the mortgage and the homeowners' association fees," Rosenblatt said. "The people who are the most harmed are Mr. and Mrs. Zuberi."

Not all Arwell Court owners agree. Though many have said they're pleased that fewer of Zuberi's problematic tenants are living on Arwell Court, they acknowledge that boarded-up units bring new problems.

David Blanch, who sits on the board of the Warfield No. 3 Condominium Association, which governs Arwell Court, fears the association's insurance premiums will skyrocket because the vacant properties pose a risk. Also, paying the association's water bill will become more difficult with one-fifth of the units vacant. Court records show Zuberi owes the association more than $80,000, much of it from unpaid condo fees.

"It's horrible," Blanch said of the agreement reached yesterday. "Zuberi won't sell. He'll keep holding out to get a better price, and he won't pay the fees, and we'll be in a pickle."

Blanch also doubts Zuberi will pay any fines. The original consent agreement, signed in June, also included daily $1,000 fines if Zuberi missed deadlines for making repairs. The deadlines passed, few repairs were made and fines haven't been collected - largely because the county and Zuberi could not agree on a list of necessary repairs.

The county also filed a civil penalty lawsuit against Zuberi for $196,000, but a hearing on that matter was postponed for three months.

Nicholson says he is not thrilled with the vacant property arrangement either, but said it's worth it to the county to get Zuberi out of the community. For nearly 10 years, county officials, community activists and even state prosecutors have tried to force Zuberi to take better care of his properties on Arwell Court and Pioneer Drive.

"This gets him out," Nicholson said. "This is great."