Landlord prosecuted under housing law for inadequate fire prevention
19 Aug 2010
A landlord from Swansea has been fined and prosecuted for failing
to adhere to fire safety regulations.
Peter Teifion Jones had been renting out an eight-bedroomed house
in Brynmill, but had been warned about its fire safety in July
2009, Info4Fire.com reports.
He was given until November 2009 to carry out repairs - including
fitting new alarms and making the fire escape usable under the Fire
Safety Order (2005) - but failed to do so.
As a result, the case was brought to prosecution and Mr Jones was
ordered to pay GBP 8,000 in fines, as well as GBP 2,287 for
breaching fire safety and environmental health regulations.
"This is an excellent result. The level of fine shows the
seriousness of these offences. Landlords who rent out property have
a duty to manage them well to protect the health and safety of the
tenants," said John Hague, Swansea's cabinet member for
environment.
Earlier this month, a landlord from Widnes was also prosecuted for
inadequate fire safety, according to Runcorn and Widnes
World.
Antonio Meloni, 68, owned a property so unsafe that tenants were
immediately banned from living there, with fire escapes locked and
alarms not working.
However, the importance of bringing unscrupulous landlords to
account was highlighted by a recent case in Birmingham in which a
man died during a fire.
Mumtaz Mohammed, 51, failed to ensure smoke alarms were fitted,
resulting in the death of one of his tenants, the Birmingham Mail
reported.
Under the 2004 Housing Act, landlords must provide an adequate
means of escape in case of emergency and should also provide
adequate fire extinguishing equipment for the size of the
property.
