A landlord from Reading has been sentenced to four months in prison for persistent breaches of fire safety regulations. Ishaq Hussein pleaded guilty to 12 charges brought under the regulatory reform order.
Mr Hussein, the landlord of a house converted into flats, had been warned about fire safety measures following an investigation earlier this year carried out by fire safety officers and environmental health officers. Upon inspection, investigators found several fire safety offences, including an inoperative fire alarm system, no firefighting equipment and no emergency lighting. There was also no record of a fire risk assessment ever being carried out.
Following investigation, Mr Hussein was given more than 6 months to address the failings regarding fire safety. The judge at Reading Crown Court, Alexia Durran stated that the defendant had made some attempts to comply with the regulation but many failings still persisted, which put the tenants at risk from death or serious injury.
The defendant was originally sentenced to 6 months imprisonment but later had his sentence reduced to four months in acknowledgement of his earlier guilty pleas.
RBFA’s fire safety legal support manager said that “complying with fire safety legislation is not optional. I hope that this case shows that people who have responsibilities to meet fire safety obligations but fail to do so face severe penalties- not just financial but, as in this example, potentially custodial sentences as well.”
