London Fire Brigade issued 35 social landlords with enforcement notices for breaching fire safety regulations in the 12 months to April, an Inside Housing investigation has discovered.
Accoridng to Inside Housing:
Five years after the Lakanal House fire killed six people in the Southwark Council-owned tower block, the rate enforcement notices have been served against landlords has risen slightly compared with the previous time Inside Housing investigated the matter.
A probe in January 2013 identified 16 notices issued in six months – a rate of 32 a year.
Enforcement notices are usually issued as a ‘last resort’, after talking and writing to a landlord has failed, or in exceptionally serious cases.
The 35 London landlords in receipt of the latest batch of notices included 28 housing associations, four councils, two housing charities and one arm’s-length management organisation.
Russ Timpson, formerly a fire-fighter, now the chief executive of risk management firm Horizonscan, said the increase was partly due to the increased experience of inspecting officers in the fire service. ‘The enforcement authorities are now becoming more adept,’ he said.
The breaches relate to 15 blocks of flats taller than four storeys, 11 care homes, seven hostels and three properties categorised as ‘other sleeping accommodation’ by the fire brigade.