A landlord who rented a house with five bedrooms to seven people in Watford has been convicted of housing offences after breaking fire safety regulations.
Khalil Ur-Rehman was fined over £10,000 after pleading guilty to four offences under the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006.
A fire broke out at the house in December last year and, after inspection, the house was found to contain only one fire alarm, no fire doors, no emergency lighting and locks that only operated with a key – leaving the tenants no escape route.
In addition, the central heating system was kept in a locked cupboard and could only be controlled by Mr Ur-Rehman, who had timed it to operate for one hour a day, despite it being the middle of winter.
Sam Richards, Watford Borough Council’s environmental health officer, who led the investigation, said: “This property was a potential death trap and such reckless negligence by landlords will not be tolerated.
“It was lucky that this time no one was injured but it could have been a very different story.
“We want to prevent situations like this and we can offer advice and support to landlords to help improve their properties.”
Jon Horastead, Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue’s station commander added: “This is one of the worst cases I’ve seen.
“No safety regulations had been followed and if the fire had taken place at night instead of the afternoon, it could have led to fatalities.”
After failing to take the measures required to protect his tenants, Mr Ur-Rehman was fined a total of £7,500 and ordered to pay costs of £5,673.27, plus a £120 victim surcharge.