'Death trap' rental property landlord fined
Published: 09-Aug-2007
A rental property in Burnley was branded a "death trap" by magistrates, after it was found to have no working fire alarms, no fire doors and dangerous electrical lighting.
The landlord was fined a total of £11,500 after appearing before Reedley Magistrates, the Lancashire Evening Telegraph reports.
He pleaded guilty to seven summonses relating to management of a Home in Multiple Occupation (HMO).
Sarah Clayton, head of housing at Burnley Council, told the paper: "Someone could have been killed in this property, it was that dangerous.
"We cannot allow lethal lodgings like this to go unchecked and are determined to make the most to changes in the law to clamp down hard on any landlord that does not look after their property in the correct way.
"The property, that consisted of three households all sharing amenities, also had no emergency lighting, gas appliances were not maintained and the individual flats were not kept in good repair."
Recently, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) urged landlords and letting agents to make sure that all gas appliances in rental properties were regularly maintained by registered Corgi-approved engineers.
