Ordered to pay £5000 Landlord Almas Rashid pleaded guilty to seven offences, including two relating to poor fire safety, under the Housing Act 2004 for his two houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) in Doncaster. He was ordered to pay £400 per offence, totalling £2800, plus more than £2500 in costs and a victim surcharge. Cllr Glyn Jones, deputy mayor and cabinet member for Housing and Equalities, said: “This positive court result sends out a clear message to landlords. “The council takes reasonable effort to secure compliance with the law by a process of advice and education. “However, where appropriate, we will not hesitate to take tough action against landlords who fail to comply with licensing rules as we strive to drive up standards, improve safety for tenants and reduce the negative impacts experienced by some of our communities.” The offences Almas Rashid pled guilty to included failure to comply with an improvement notice after a council inspection and non-compliance with HMO regulations relating to poor fire safety and management.

Salim Virani, the boss of The Crown Hotel in Burnley, has pleaded guilty to a string of offences after the hotel was shut down in 2017. Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service carried out an inspection in 2017 and found a range of problems, which varied from a lack of fire detectors and alarms to missing smoke sensors and combustible materials being left on fire escape routes. The general maintenance and repair of fire alarm systems were also brought into question during the inspection. Crown Hotel (Stone) Ltd was trialled at Burnley Crown Court, where evidence also emerged that a sufficient fire risk assessment had not been compiled and adequate fire doors had not been provided. Salim pleaded guilty to six fire safety offences, all of which were said to place people at risk of serious injury or death but entered not guilty pleas to several other fire safety planning charges. The hotel was also found guilty of failing to take general fire precautions as were reasonably practicable to ensure the safety of employees in case of fire. Judge Andrew Woolman bailed Salim until March 25.