Fire safety: Landlords imprisoned for fire safety breaches

19/06/2009 by David Slade.

Landlords imprisoned for fire safety breaches 17/06/2009

Two landlords of bedsit accommodation in north London have been sentenced to six months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay £5000 costs each for breaching fire safety legislation. The prosecution followed a fire on 31 March 2007 at a house converted into bedsits on Hampden Road, London N8.

Michael de Havilland and Sally Fox of Muswell Hill were sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court on Friday 12 June, after previously pleading guilty to several breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. These included inadequate fire detection systems, a lack of proper fire doors for bedrooms or for the communal kitchen, no emergency lighting in the building’s stairway, a lack of firefighting equipment such as a fire extinguisher or fire blankets, and no fire risk assessment available for inspection.

A further inspection was arranged where an enforcement notice was issued, explaining that the breaches needed to be dealt with. But after further contact with the co-owners and further inspections over a number of months, inspecting officers found that no remedial work had been completed.

“This is our second prosecution resulting in a custodial sentence and again sends out a strong message to landlords and building owners,” said Brian Coleman, chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority. “Our role is to keep Londoners safe, and where we see that you are not taking your legal fire safety responsibilities seriously, we will take action.”

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