A letting agent has been jailed for 12 months after two young children died in a fire in a rental home his firm managed and where he failed to fit smoke alarms.
Police said after the case that they found “numerous” failings at other properties managed by the same firm.
Kamal Bains, a director of now-defunct Prime Property Estates (Yorkshire), had faced manslaughter charges.
However these were dropped after Bains admitted charges of health and safety violations.
Sentencing him, Mr Justice Males told Bains: “Your failure to fit smoke alarms was a significant cause of the children’s deaths.”
The judge said that had smoke alarms been fitted, there would have been a few minutes in which the boys, Logan Taylor, three, and Jake Casey, two, could have been saved.
In an impact statement to the court, the mother of the two children, Emma Taylor, said: “I don’t think I will ever recover from this awful tragedy.”
She had earlier told the court that she had repeatedly asked Bains to fit alarms.
After the case, West Yorkshire deputy chief fire officer Dave Walton said: “This landmark case shows how vitally important it is that landlords and letting agents take their responsibilities seriously or the consequences do not bear thinking about.”
West Yorkshire Police said the case is thought to be the first prosecution of its kind in the UK since new legislation was introduced in October 2015.
The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations 2015 require private rental homes to have at least one smoke alarm installed on every floor.
The landlord or their agent must also make sure the alarms are in working order at the start of each new tenancy.
Senior investigating officer Det Supt Steve Thomas said: “An extensive investigation has been conducted by West Yorkshire Police into this incident and we are pleased that we have secured justice for the family.
“During an examination of the property after the incident, there were no signs of smoke alarms having being present prior to the fire. There was also no evidence to suggest a smoke alarm had ever been fixed to the upstairs ceiling and only a fixing bracket was present downstairs.
“A full reconstruction of the fire was carried out in January 2017 where we were able to establish that if smoke alarms had been present in the property; they would have been activated in adequate time to get the young boys to safety. Instead, due to his failings, there have been catastrophic consequences for a young family and the devastating loss of two young boys.
“The investigation team conducted visits to other properties within the letting agent’s portfolio and found failings at numerous other family homes.
“We welcome the conviction and we also hope that this case is a stark reminder to landlords and letting agents to treat their responsibilities seriously and they have an obligation to ensure that all properties are fully equipped with all adequate safety measures to ensure the safety of their tenants.
“Failing to adhere to the legislation is a criminal offence and one which can have tragic consequences.”
Terrible. And I’m not trying to make light of it or take anything away from the fact that the agent massively failed in his duty of care but why didn’t the tenant just get some smoke alarms fitted themselves if the agent wasn’t doing it? You can buy a set for less than a tenner from argos, or if you call the local fire station they’ll supply and fit some completely free of charge for you.
The agent is responsible for this ultimately but the tenant has to take some responsibility as well surely?
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Yes and no…unfortunately.
The agent is at fault. Common sense would dictate that a responsible parent would also take measures to protect their family as you say, but ask any fire officer, and people still ignore installation. The real issue is that everyone still feels it is their responsibility to find someone to blame rather than actually doing the right thing and quite often applying common sense by using your eyes and ears. Therefore agents need to be professional and systematic in this day of no fault culture.
Terrible that children are the victims!
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I agree with both points; the Agent had a responsibility to the Tenant and the children to make sure that the property was safe and legally compliant, but the parents could have fitted a smoke alarm themselves, it doesn’t take much.
I went round to do an inventory on a new one, and discovered that the Landlord had forgotten my advice to install one upstairs before marketing it; as we have an accompanied viewer, I had not visited the property until the inventory. I immediately told the landlord that one would have to be in place the next day when the Tenants moved in. I arranged for my contractor to pick one up, with batteries, and git it asap. It was done the afternoon that the tenants moved in, and cost about £40 inc vat.
It would not have been hard for the Agent to arrange that, it probably took as long as it’s taken me to write the above paragraph! And equally the Tenants could have done it if they were that worried…
The Agent was still at fault though, and whilst I am glad he avoided the manslaughter charge he does deserve some punishment for failing the two little boys.
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Surely tenants have to take some responsibility for this. They knew there were no alarms because they complained about it. How about spend £30, fit one in approx 10mins, protect your children and then worry about claiming the money back from the landlord afterwards? What about all the situations where tenants do not replace batteries or take alarms down because they are chirrping? will they get prosecuted if there is a fire?
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It’s written in my contracts that batteries etc are down to the Tenants to replace. I always try and remember to ask tenants on inspections when was the last time they checked their somke alarms? I dont always rememeber, but I do try.
If a tenant calls to say it is beeping then I tell them they need to replace it. I always recommend to LLs that they have the ones wired in to the mains with a battery back-up.
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Our management visit lady has an extending cane (£18 from Amazon) and she tests all smoke alarms on management visits. At least 50% of tenants were failing to replace batteries – they either take the alarm down or more commonly turn the batteries around (don’t know why).
We revisit after 2 weeks and charge them for the batteries or a replacement unit if they haven’t done the repair themselves. Initially it’s a nuisance, but it has become less and less common as we charge more than Asda for batteries and units.
Better safe than sorry even if it does take a bit of time
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The Agent failed in their legal duty, but this was not a one off as it would seem they had a number of properties that did not comply; makes you wonder what other failings exist!
Adult occupiers, whether tenants or owners, do have a responsibility to ensure they and their family are living in a safe environment, but far too many occupiers abdicate this responsibility. How many times have we seen batteries removed from alarms, or even the alarm itself if it is wired, people putting cots next to windows where there is a blind cord, putting an extension lead in the bathroom so they can listen to music, not use an RCD when using an appliance outside, putting towels to dry over an electric heater, smoking. The list can go on.
We cannot assume we are immune to the hazards of everyday life.
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