BUILT ENVIRONMENT JOURNAL

Case stresses landlords' fire liability

Comment: A recent Crown Court judgment should remind landlords of how important it is to understand their obligations when it comes to the fire safety of their properties

Author:

David Greenwood

27 April 2021

Failure to ensure that adequate fire precautions are in place on an occupied rented property could result in prosecution and may constitute a criminal offence – bringing with it fines and potential imprisonment for the landlord or a manager of a house in multiple occupation (HMO).

Even before the reforms prompted by Dame Judith Hackitt's review of fire safety and Building Regulations, namely the drafting of the Building Safety and Fire Safety Bills, there was some statutory protection for residents of certain properties or employees working at particular premises. Where a landlord fails to satisfy their obligations, this protection still has teeth – as one recent case can remind us.

'Inadequate fire precautions'

In a case – where sentencing was handed down last October and not yet publicly available – Luton Crown Court sentenced and prosecuted Mr Sagoo, a landlord of an HMO, following a fire at his property where there were found to be 'inadequate fire precautions'. The fire occurred in March 2019, and resulted in the death of one of the seven residents; another had to be pulled to safety by a passer-by after re-entering the burning building to save a fellow occupant.

An investigation determined that the house lacked fire doors and an interlinked fire alarm system, as required under the law. The court found that the landlord was in breach of the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Sagoo was sentenced to four months' imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, with a fine of £20,000 and costs of £12,000.

Regulatory responsibility

As a landlord, Sagoo was classed as a responsible person for fire safety under the 2005 Order, because he had control over the premises.

The order defines the responsible person as:

the employer, if a workplace is to any extent under their control
in relation to any premises not falling within this category: the person who has control of the premises – as occupier or otherwise – in connection with their trade, business or other undertaking, for profit or not; or the owner, where the person in control of the premises does not have control in connection with the carrying on by that person of a trade, business or other undertaking. This would include the person receiving the rack rent, or who would receive rack rent if the premises were let on that basis.

The scope of the 2005 Order is wide, and covers most premises, including those used for business. Although domestic premises tend to fall outside the order's scope, HMOs are included under the category of sleeping accommodation.

An HMO is defined in Part 7 of the Housing Act 2004 as falling within one of the following four categories:

a building or flat in which more than one household shares a basic amenity, such as a bathroom, toilet or cooking facilities
a building that has been converted and does not entirely comprise self-contained flats
a building that is declared an HMO by the local authority
a converted block of flats where the standard of conversion does not meet the standard required by regulation 20 of the Building Regulations 1991 (where building work was completed before 1 June 1992), or by the Building Regulations in force at the time of completion of the works, and where fewer than two-thirds of the flats are owner-occupied.

Lessons for landlords and HMO managing agents

Landlords and HMO managing agents can take a number of steps to ensure that they and their properties comply with the law. They should consider which regulations apply to their property, to be sure they understand their obligations, duties and liabilities. For example, in Sagoo, the premises fell within the definition of HMO in the 2005 Order, even though at first glance all residential properties would appear to be classed as dwellinghouses. Mr Sagoo also stated that he believed the property had been let as a single tenancy, rather than as an HMO. The judge in Sagoo also commented that Mr Sagoo ought to have known who was in the house and would have done had he carried out regular inspections.

As a result the order obliged Mr Sagoo to have general fire precautions in place at the HMO, which would have protected the residents. Such 'general fire precautions' are detailed in the DCLG (now MHCLG) guidance document, Fire safety risk assessment: Sleeping accommodation.

Mr Sagoo's failure to implement those precautions not only placed the residents at risk of death or serious injury in the case of fire – in contravention of article 32(1) of the 2005 Order – but also left him with little or no alternative but to plead guilty to the allegations made against him, and accept the resulting fines and criminal sentence.

HMO managing agents and landlords need to ensure that their HMO properties are properly licenced, and that they meet any additional conditions imposed by the relevant Local Authority on the licence. Based on the judge's criticism of Mr Sagoo's lack of knowledge of the nature of the tenancies at the HMO, it is advisable that inspections take place to ensure managing agents and landlords understand who resides at the property.

HMO managers also need to adhere to the duties set out in Management Regulations 2006, in particular ensuring that all fire safety measures are maintained in good working order and that adequate fire safety measures are in place with regards to design, structural conditions and number of occupiers in the HMO.

If there are any queries in respect of meeting the conditions of an HMO licence, managing agents and landlords should contact the relevant local authority for further information.

"Landlords and HMO managing agents can take a number of steps to ensure that they and their properties comply with the law"

David Greenwood is a senior associate at Pinsent Masons

david.greenwood@pinsentmasons.com

Related competencies include: Fire safety