‘Imminent risk’ as HMO landlord served with prohibition order

A landlord of a house in multiple occupation has been served with an emergency prohibition notice for alleged major fire safety shortcomings, resulting in nine tenants being rehoused.

The six flats in a four-storey property in Newton Abbott, Devon, were closed by Teignbridge Council housing officers acting with fire safety officers from Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service.

The landlord – Manorial Heritage Ltd – was served with an emergency prohibition order on 9 November under s43 of the Housing Act 2004. Breaches of the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation Regulations 2006 included the absence of any fire detection equipment, inadequate emergency lighting and inadequate protection of the means of escape.

Officers were working with the landlord to bring the fire protection measures up to standard and to install a fire detection and alarm system, though the council has not ruled out further legal action.

Cllr Ray Frost, Teignbridge spokesperson for housing services, said:

“We have a duty to anyone living in a multiple-household building to ensure that it is safe and appropriately managed, and regularly inspect these buildings. In this instance there were some major concerns, not least the lack of any fire detection equipment.

“Due to the severity of the issues we served an emergency notice to close the building immediately. This action is never taken lightly, but to allow the building to remain occupied in this unsafe state would have been bordering on negligence.”

A spokesman for Manorial Heritage Ltd told the South Devon Herald Express they had believed that while the property was in need of refurbishment, it complied with all relevant regulations. They were co-operating with the council to bring the flats up to standard but were “disappointed” they were not given more than half a day to source and install a new fire detection and alarm system.