TWO Haringey landlords have today been jailed for six months for failing to provide adequate fire safety features.
Michael De Havilland and Sally Fox, of Muswell Hill, appeared at Wood Green Crown Court, in Lordship Lane, having previously pleaded guilty to the breaches.
The prosecution followed a fire at one of their properties in Hampden Road, Harringay, on March 31, 2007, which was converted into a bedsit.
London Fire Brigade Fire safety inspectors found multiple breaches of the Regulatory Reform Order 2005 relating to fire safety.
The breaches included inadequate fire detection systems, no fire doors on bedrooms or the communal kitchen, no emergency lighting in the building’s stairway and a lack of fire extinguishers or fire blankets.
No fire risk assessment was available for inspection, the London Fire Brigade said.
The owners were given warnings to tackle the problem but a follow-up inspection found no work had been undertaken to safeguard it leading the fire service to prosecute them for their negligence.
Haringey councillor Ed Butcher, Liberal Democrat leader on London Fire Brigade said: "People who rent need to know they are safe. All too often tenants have no choice but to trust their landlords.
"Prosecution should always be a last resort, but if someone is responsible for protecting other people’s safety, they simply cannot ignore warning after warning from fire officers. It is for courts to decide the sentence on the severity of the breach. In this case it clearly thought that the breach was serious."
Mr Butcher said he hoped the case served as a warning to prevent a tragedy before it happens.
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