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.

ADD TO FAVOURITES Restaurant fined 7k over fire safety breaches Staircases blocked and fire detectors faulty 01 AUGUST 2018 A York restaurant has been ordered to pay £7,000 after a number of fire safety breaches were found at the premises, putting occupants at ‘risk of death or serious injury’. People sleeping in the nine rooms immediately above the Mr Happy food outlet in Blossom Street risked death or serious injury for two years, York Magistrates Court heard. The list of failings included: The internal staircase to the two floors restaurant and takeaway was blocked and couldn’t be used an external staircase into a nearby alleyway had flammable objects and obstacles at its foot the building’s fire alarm and fire detectors didn’t work its fire extinguisher probably didn’t work because it hadn’t been serviced for five years. Fire officers served a prohibition notice banning the use of the rooms for accommodation after they discovered the fire safety problems during a routine inspection in May 2017. But in December, immigration officers found a Romanian restaurant employee living in one of the rooms. Kheng Koay pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the safety of employees and non-employees from May 13, 2015, to May 13, 2017, failure to carry out a fire risk assessment during the same period and failure to comply with a prohibition notice on December 7, 2017. York magistrates fined him £5,000 and ordered him to pay the £1,989 prosecution costs of the North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, plus a £170 statutory surcharge. Original source York Press

‘Serious deficiencies’ found AUGUST 2018 - Fire Risk assessment - Fire engineering A landlord has been handed an 8-month suspended prison sentence after his Dorset pub failed to meet fire safety regulations. The owners of Dusthole Co Ltd were also fined £30,000 and ordered to pay £5000 in costs after pleading guilty to four offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. As well as his suspended sentence, Mr Anthony Cockayne, the sole director of the company, was also given ordered to pay £2000 in costs and a victim surcharge of £140 when he appeared before Bristol Crown Court. The offences related to a number of failures in the fire safety standards identified by officers of Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service (DSFRS) in 2016. The premises, also known as The Kings Arms, advertises as a hotel pub and restaurant. The inspection revealed: The fire detection and warning system fell far short of the standard expected in a premises providing sleeping accommodation; On two separate occasions, officers found the fire detection and warning system inoperative as the fuse had been removed; The escape routes serving the sleeping accommodation were not adequately protected by fire resisting construction An original staircase had been sealed removing an alternative escape route from the first floor There was a lack of emergency escape lighting Self-closing devices had been disconnected from fire doors Due to the number of serious deficiencies found the officers served a Prohibition Notice preventing the use of the premises in respect of its sleeping accommodation until adequate fire safety measures were provided. The subsequent investigation by DSFRS revealed that Mr Cockayne had carried out several alterations to the premises, increasing the number of bedrooms. However, he had failed to review the fire safety provisions and take account of the changes. In summing up His Honour Judge Townsend said: “These are serious breaches of the Fire Safety Order”, adding “there was a disregard (for fire safety) over a long period of time”. Original source Dorset and Somerset Fire and Rescue

Residents’ lives ‘put at risk’ AUGUST 2018 -  FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT A landlord has been fined £20,000 plus costs after two people became trapped upstairs during a fire in Worthing last year, reports the Worthing Herald. Former landlord Terry Millis admitted that he put the lives of five residents at risk, weeks after he was told their fire alarm did not work. The judge said Millis had a ‘high level’ of culpability and fined him £20,000 for ‘failures’ in the lead up to the fire. The blaze had trapped two people on the second floor of the property due to the stairs being smoke logged. Fortunately, firefighters managed to rescue the people, who both escaped without major injury, though one was taken to hospital and treated for smoke inhalation. The court heard that is subsequently emerged Mr Millis did not have a fire risk assessment and was aware that the fire alarm was not in working order. Several of the smoke detectors also had the manufacturer’s dust covers still on them, rendering them non-responsive to smoke. Mr Millis had contacted a company to repair the fire alarm two months before the fire, but the work had not been done, the court heard. Chris Chatterton, defending, said Millis checked the alarms every month in the daytime. He said: “That would explain why there were no alarm tests heard by residents. “The fire itself is through no fault of Mr Millis.” The court heard the blaze was caused by a cooking surface being left unattended. Sentencing him, district judge Tessa Szagun said he had a ‘high level’ of culpability. She said: “The purpose of sentencing in this type of case is to protect the safety of individuals living in such premises by ensuring that there is no financial gain by any person cutting corners. “[There is] also a necessity to deter others from doing so.” Original source Worthing Herald

New Smoke and CO Alarm legislation for Landlords If this message doesn't display correctly please click hereTo ensure our E-shot updates get to your inbox - add this to your address book On the 11th March new legisatation regarding Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms was announced. Visit our dedicated webpage to learn more and keep up to date with any new announcements or updates. For information specific to Landlord Legislation in Scotland, please find the information here.  Don’t forget to register for our free Landlord’s Guide that covers all the exisiting British Standards for Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms. To be removed from our email mailing list, please click here to unsubscribe

One of the country’s biggest care home providers has today been ordered to pay £170,622 for contravening fire safety laws following a fire in which a woman died. Anchor Trust which runs Rose Court on Lower Road in Bermondsey, pleaded guilty to two offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 at Woolwich Crown Court. This case comes soon after the conviction of another care home provider in Croydon, in May 2014. The lady in question, who suffered from dementia, died following a fire in her room at the home for elderly people on 26 March 2010. Investigators determined that the fire was caused by her nightwear coming into contact with a naked flame. The investigation found that although the general fire risk assessment for the home identified smoking as a risk, further assessment specifically in respect of the woman had not been carried out as required by Anchor Trust’s own policies. As a result measures to reduce the risk had not been properly considered or put into place. During 2013/14 there were 527 fires in London’s care homes and sheltered accommodation, with two people dying and 34 people being injured. *Source: London Fire Brigade Please note: commercial buildings, non-domestic and multi-occupancy premises in England and Wales are already forced to undertake a ‘suitable and sufficient’ fire risk assessment carried out under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. While the overwhelming majority of premises do this, if the assessment is carried out to an insufficient extent, the responsible person can face an unlimited fine or up to two years in prison.

Business owners are being advised by Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service to pay greater attention to fire safety legislation, following the prosecution of a Nottingham fast food retailer at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court today (Monday 4 November). LFF Limited faced a total financial penalty of £14,979.50, including a victim surcharge and full costs, after pleading guilty to six fire safety offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Fines imposed on LFF Limited included £2,667 for failing to have installed a fire detection and warning system and £2,000 for failing to ensure that escape routes from upper floors were adequately protected from smoke and fire. All of the sentences took account of the one third discount to which the company was entitled following early guilty pleas. The magistrates emphasised that safety must always take priority over financial considerations. Fire protection officers from Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service visited the Maryland Chicken outlet, Lower Parliament Street, Nottingham in October last year and found that the fire precautions that should have been provided in the event of a fire were inadequate. This presented a serious risk to the lives of staff at the premises. Enforcement and Prohibition Notices were issued, which limited the use of the premises and required fire safety improvements. The offences in full, on or before 8 October 2012, were as follows . . . . 1. Failure to create a suitable and sufficient Fire Risk Assessment - fine of £1,334 2. Failure to install a fire detection and warning system - fine of £2,667 3. Failure to keep emergency escape routes free from obstruction - fine of £1,667 4. Failure to ensure that emergency escape routes led to a place of safety - fine of £1,334 5. Failure to ensure that emergency escape routes were sufficiently protected from smoke or fire - fine of £2,000 6. Failure to install appropriate emergency lighting on escape routes - fine of £1,667 Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service is reminding all owners and occupiers of buildings of their legal responsibility to protect their customers and staff against the risk of fire and warning them that, where necessary, action will be taken against anyone found to be in breach of fire safety regulations. Vic McMillen, Fire Protection Group Manager, said: "We are here to provide advice and support to local businesses and are always willing to help to make sure they comply with the fire safety legislation. However, the public should continue to be reassured that we take any breaches of fire safety very seriously and will use legal sanctions where necessary."

A Marylebone pub landlord has been hit with a £35,000 fine for breaking fire safety laws and potentially putting her customers and tenants at risk after we successfully prosecuted them. Romana Chohan, who runs The Bell House, on Bell Street, pleaded guilty to seven offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and was sentenced at Hammersmith Magistrates Court on (Tuesday, 9 December). Mrs Chohan was also ordered to pay court costs of £9,000. Fire Inspectors raised concerns The business consisted of a traditional pub on the ground floor, with bedsits on the upper floors. At the time of the offences Mrs Chohan had been carrying out refurbishment work on the property. After a complaint made by a prospective tenant of one of the rooms above the pub, Westminster Council alerted us to the property. Our fire safety officers carried out an inspection in September 2012 and raised a number of concerns. These included: • inadequate fire detection in the property, • escape routes that wouldn’t offer protection from fire and smoke • failure to maintain fire extinguishers • no fire risk assessment for the property. We issued the landlord with an enforcement notice in October 2012, detailing what work needed to be done to address their concerns but after a follow-up visit in November they found that a number of the fire safety issues that had been raised still hadn’t been addressed. A further inspection was carried out on 15 January 2013. By this time, the refurbishment of the pub had been completed and it was open for business, but Mrs Chohan had still not complied with the enforcement notice and we took the decision to prosecute. London Fire Brigade’s Deputy Head of Fire Safety Regulation Mark Andrews said: “The size of the fine imposed in this case should serve as a stark reminder to landlords and business owners of their fire safety responsibilities. If, as in this case, we find they are ignoring them and are putting their customers and tenants at serious risk of fire we won’t hesitate to prosecute.” Source London Fire Brigade

Defendant - Jason Berrington, Managing Director of Student Housing Northamptonshire. Charged with failure to take general fire precautions at three student properties, and failing to comply with an enforcement notice at one of the properties. 6-month suspended sentence. 150 hours of unpaid work. Fined £750 in fire service costs, and ordered to pay a £100 victims surcharge.