A landlord has been ordered to pay over £13,000 in fines and costs after renting out a flat in North Yorkshire without putting any basic fire safety measures in place.
A property owned by Rava Properties Limited caught the attention of the North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority after a serious fire took hold of a basement flat in Harrogate in December of 2012.
Following an inspection, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority decided to prosecute Rava Properties Limited and Nigel Rudd, the former director of the property company for health and safety failings.
During the hearing, Harrogate Magistrates’ Court was told that a number of serious issues had been identified by fire safety officers, including a lack of fire alarm, a lack of self-closing fire doors and a lack of fire risk assessment.
Solicitor Rob Rode entered a guilty plea on behalf of Nigel Rudd to two contraventions of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Rava Properties Limited also pleaded guilty to two contraventions of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Following the hearing, Rava Properties Limited was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay in full prosecution costs of £1,498.16, while Mr Rudd was fined £6,000.