A man who rented out a 3-bedroom house with inadequate fire precautions to six families has been fined almost £3000 by magistrates in Leicestershire.

David Sansom of Coalville pleaded guilty to seven offences and the court fined him £145 for each offence, a total of £1015, and ordered him to pay a £30 victim surcharge. He is also to pay the legal costs of North West Leicestershire District Council, who brought the prosecution.

When the property was visited by environmental protection officers from the local authority resulting from a tip-off, they found that it did not have a license to be occupied as a house of multiple occupation, tenants were living in the roof space with access available only by a loft ladder, three families were living in each of the bedrooms, and the ground floor had been partitioned to create rooms for two more.

There were no fire or smoke alarms in the loft space, the fire precautions in the rest of the house were inadequate, the electrical circuits were unsafe, there were obstructions to escape routes, and the only exit from the loft was via a collapsible ladder. 

Original source
Leicestershire Live