Landlord wins flat fire hazard appeal
AFS Team·29 May 2013·3 min read
The Upper Tribunal backed an appeal from landlord Sathavahana Vaddaram who contested a prohibition order from East Lindsey Council over how tenants would escape from a fire in a flat at Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire.
The council banned Mr Vaddaram from letting the one-bed first-floor flat on grounds that the layout gave the tenants no chance of escape if fire broke out in the kitchen or living room while they were in the bedroom, according to statutory guidance under the Housing Act 2004.
To get to the bedroom, the tenants had to walk through both rooms and the only other bedroom exit was from two windows.
The council also rated the fire risk higher as the tenant had portable electric heaters and no central heating.
Mr Vaddaram lost the case at a residential property tribunal (RPT) and appealed to the upper tribunal, pointing out the council and the RPT had failed to consider official Local Government Regulation (LGR) - formerly LACORS - fire safety guidance when assessing the hazard.
The Upper Tribunal ruled in the landlord’s favour, as fire safety measures at the flat came within the LGR guidance.
The tribunal chairman commented: “The LGR guidance is clearly important and ought to be given great weight in a case such as this. It appears that the guidance was not drawn to the RPT’s attention, and it cannot be criticised for not referring to it. But the council undoubtedly should have drawn the report to the tribunal’s attention
“In reaching this conclusion neither the respondent nor the RPT applied the seven criteria that are set out in paragraph 14.2 of LGR. In my opinion the application of those criteria is a material consideration when deciding whether or not a window is a satisfactory means of escape in an emergency.”
In upholding the appeal, the chairman awarded Mr Vaddaram £1,500 costs against the council but turned down a claim for compensation as he had no power to award damages.
For landlords, this means that building inspectors, fire safety officers and housing officers must consider both sets of guidance when assessing a fire hazard.
Read the statutory guidance Read the LGR guidance
