Landlord fined after breaching fire safety law

Published: 04/07/2013

A landlord has been fined £20,000 after a fire raged through his rental property, seriously endangering the life of his tenants.

Mr Mashru, of Northwood, failed to carry out a risk assessment of the property before letting it to tenants. He also neglected to install appropriate fire safety equipment including smoke alarms.

The fire was started by an electrical fault from a down lighter. The blaze was so intense it required 50 fire fighters to extinguish it over a 12 hour period.

Judith Gower, prosecution on behalf of Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, commented on the severity of the fire:

“It was only by luck that one of the occupants woke up and got the others to safety.

“It was a very serious fire. The defendant fell well short of the appropriate standards and placed people at risk of death or serious injury.”

By law landlords must PAT-test all electrical appliances and all furniture must meet fire safety requirements. HMO properties also require a 5-yearly electrical safety check while bedsits must have a written fire assessment.

Mr Mashru was fined £20,000 (£5,000 for each breach) plus £7394.58 in court costs.

Content correct at time of publication