A house rented to seven students had inadequate fire doors and a broken smoke alarm, the magistrates court in Reading, Berkshire was told. 

In addition, the landlord had not registered the property as a house of multiple occupation with the local authority, in contravention of licencing regulations.

Following an inspection by Reading Borough Council’s private sector housing team, Mr Mohammed Nazir pleaded guilty to offences in contravention of the Housing Act 2004 and the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006. 

As well as being responsible for unlicensed premises, Mr Nazir was fined and ordered to pay costs totalling £2500 for:

• Fire doors without smoke seals, intumescent strips and self-closers
• Internal doors having disconnected self-closers
• A smoke detector not maintained in good order

Reading’s lead council member for housing, John Ennis, said, “It is simply not acceptable for landlords of HMOs to flout regulations when it comes to the safety of their tenants.

“I am glad that our housing team, with the support of our lawyers, are there to take action against the minority of landlords who fail to put in the required safety precautions.”

Original source

Reading Borough Council