NEWS
Fines and prosecutions Landlord loses HMO licence over fire safety issues
SHAZIA SHAH was refused a renewal of her house in multiple occupation (HMO) licence after a series of fire safety issues were identified. Evening Times reported on the
refusal to renew Mrs Shah’s HMO licence by Glasgow City Council, as her three bedroom flat in the city had seen student tenants ‘subjected to dangerous living conditions’. Mrs Shah had ‘failed to take sufficient steps to prevent a fire’, with an inspection by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) in October 2018 finding that escape routes were blocked and that furniture which had been left in hallways ‘posed [a] hazard’. In turn, the property had neither
a fire alarm, nor an extractor fan ‘to reduce the spread of smoke’, while smoke prevention seals were not installed on any of the doors. An interim visit in January also found that some of the issues ‘were still outstanding’ and had not been rectified. Mrs Shah had applied to the council to renew the licence, but had seen this contested by Lord Provost Eva Bolander, with the landlord’s husband addressing the licensing committee on her behalf. Mr Shah stated: ‘I had an audit carried out on Sunday and they were pleased with the progress. There are a few minor issues that still need to be addressed. These include fire safety instructions for tenants,
seals along the doors and effective measures to prevent the spread of smoke, including the installation of an extractor fan.’ Committee chairman Alex Wilson
responded however, saying: ‘You found out about these problems on October 25 and have still got items outstanding’. Mr Shah retorted: 'I have tried to address them. The people living in the flat are students and left in December to spend time with their families at Christmas. They did not return until January. One of them studies architecture and is on a dig somewhere across the globe. Now there are only two people living there’. In response, Mr Wilson noted
that ‘it might be just as well she is not in the country as the property seems to be a fire risk. We take this very seriously. You do not appear to’, to which Mr Shah commented that ‘we had an audit report in 2014 and everything passed. I wasn’t aware of any changes’. SFRS pointed out on this assertion however that it ‘did not corroborate this statement’. A representative of the SFRS
commented: ‘In 2014 there were a number of issues identified with the property. We told the HMO holder they had to make sure the appropriate fire safety measures were put in place. At this time there was no fire safety measures in place, furniture was in the hallway, there
20 MARCH 2019
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were insufficient escape routes and only a fire blanket in the kitchen.’ Another councillor, John Kane,
told Mr Shah: ‘You already had to address these issues four years ago but here you are again. Some of the complaints made in 2018 are very similar to the ones made in 2014. We have got to assess if you are a fit person to rent a property. Many of the items regarding the safety of your tenants are extremely worrying. What worries me more is your HMO expired last February and it took you eight months to renew it.’ Responding, Mr Shah said that the couple ‘did not realise it had expired. We will make sure it will never happen again’, to which Mr Kane said: ‘You are assuming we will grant your licence. We are talking about people’s safety. You have not convinced me you are taking this seriously.’ As a consequence, the councillors agreed to refuse the renewal application for the licence. Mr Shah added: ‘We have done a risk assessment and passed that on to the SFRS. We will have regular meetings with tenants and visit the property on a monthly basis. I have been testing the fire alarm on a weekly basis and will be telling those living there to do that from now on and getting them to email me the results. A fire alarm and fire extinguishers are all in place.’
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