A residential landlord has been given a suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay more than £10,000 in costs after pleading guilty to four breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Inderjit Singh was given a six month sentence to be served concurrently on each of the four offences, suspended for 18 months. He had previously pleaded guilty to the offences at a hearing in March 2011 at Harrow Crown Court.
Following a fire in March 2009 at a house in multiple occupation in Hayes, west London, investigators found there were no fire alarms or detection in the common areas of the property, inadequate fire doors and that no fire risk assessment had been carried out.
In the nine month period leading up to the fire, Hillingdon Council had contacted Mr Singh about fire safety and general improvements to the property, according to London Fire Brigade.
“This verdict sends out a clear message that if landlords ignore fire safety then they will face serious penalties,” said Steve Turek, assistant commissioner for fire safety regulation. “Mr. Singh was given plenty of time to improve fire safety inside the property but failed to comply.
