£20,000 fine for The Responsible Person!! - 06/12/2009

£20,000 fine for The Responsible Person!!

A London landlord has recently pleaded guilty to breaches of the fire safety legislation and has been ordered to pay over £20,000 in fines and costs.

The prosecution came after numerous inspections at a London property that the Responsible Person has managed since 1997. Fire safety inspectors found that that there were no fire safety procedures in place and no way of informing tenants about fire safety arrangements. Storage was also found to be blocking the escape route, whilst smoke alarms had either been removed or had low batteries inside them. This was all in addition to there being no fire risk assessment for the premises.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, places a duty on a defined 'responsible person' to be accountable for all 'general fire precautions'. The 'Responsible Person' means the employer for many organisations. It could also mean the occupier of the premises where a business or organisation is run. Finally it can be the owner, where the person may not have any control, or interest in the person of a trade, business or undertaking. Any assessment and fire precautions must be kept under review by the 'responsible person'.

A spokesman said: "Housing providers like the 'Responsible Person' in this case have to carry out a fire risk assessment and even more importantly, act upon its findings. Landlords have to know their responsibilities to protect and inform their residents if a fire breaks out".

Are you the responsible person? RANA Risk Management can help you understand your role and responsibilities.