Landlord jailed after tenant trapped in fire
A landlord has been jailed after a fire at one of his properties left a teenager on the brink of death.
Nineteen-year-old Layla Skalli was given a less then 1 per cent chance of survival after the blaze at her Norwich flat left her with 80 per cent deep tissue burns all over her body, and was only saved by pioneering skin grafting techniques.
Her landlord, Michael Billings, of Ashman’s Hall, Barsham, Beccles, Suffolk, failed to provide a working fire alarm system, install the right number of fire doors or a means of escape and had not ensured gas appliances in the flat had been serviced properly.
He admitted a range of charges brought by the Health and Safety Executive and Norwich Fire and Rescue Service and was sentenced at Norwich County Court to two-and-a-half years in prison.
The judge also ordered Mr Billings to pay £20,000 in costs. He said he would review the sentence if Mr Billings paid £20,000 to Ms Skalli as a show of remorse.
The fire broke out in the early hours of 14 April 2009 at the flat above shops in Magdalen Street, Norwich. Ms Skalli was unable to escape because her sash window could only be opened four inches and the staircase was blocked with thick smoke.
By the time firefighters reached her, she was unconscious and virtually all the skin below her neck had been destroyed by the 600 degree heat.
HSE inspector John Claxton said: ‘When fire broke out, there was very little Layla could do, either to fight the fire or escape its flames. This was as a direct result of Michael Billings’ failure to act as a responsible landlord.’
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Readers' comments (7)
The Soothsayer | 10/05/2010 5:55 pm
A very tragic incident. You cannot put a monetary value on the impaired quality of life the tenant will now go on to have, as a result of this incident. However, the cost of putting in the safeguards and the measures to have prevented such injuries to the tenant, would have been far lower than the 20,000 pounds the landlord now has to pay, in order for the judge to show some leniency.
My question is, if you are unwilling to act as a reasonable landlord, why go on to become a landlord (and endanger lives), in the first place?
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bannside | 11/05/2010 8:49 am
I am assuming that as the landlord did not provide fire doors or means of escape in this dwelling that it is a House in Multiple Occupation. What are Local Authorities doing to protect lives in HMOs?
Local Authorities have the powers to take control of HMOs where the health and safety of the occupants is under threat through interim management orders. These powers were given in the Housing Act 2004 and came into effect in 2006, yet only a handful (if that) have been made. Why?
Are local authorities failing the people that live in badly run and dangerous HMO's? I say they are. And it seems to me that the Health and Safety Executive only act after a tragedy
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Peter Francis | 11/05/2010 10:02 am
bannside, have you any evidence the LAs are 'failing the people that live in badly run and dangerous HMOs? If you have what have you done about it? Have you also informed the HSE and you local ward councillors? It is also important that you do this in writing ( record and evidence) and cc your letter to as many relevant people of interest.
This case has highlighted when there is a dereliction of duty, the resulting tragic consequences are unacceptable and criminal. Though I am somewhat surprised at the leniency of the sentencing, nevertheless this will send a warning shot to the bow to all LAs & HAs chief executives and housing directors.
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bannside | 11/05/2010 12:47 pm
I beleive that local authorities are, "failing people that live in badly run and dangerous HMOs", because generally they do not use their powers such as mangement orders to deal with dangerous HMO's. This can be evidenced by visiting the Residential Property Tribunal website that records the number of management orders made on unlicensed HMOs. The last time I looked I could only find orders made by one LA in England - Camden in north London. Clearly there are many dangerous HMOs - but LAs don't seem to be using the powers available to them to control dangerous HMOs.
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| 11/05/2010 4:51 pm
What a horrible story. It is not clear whether this was a HMO or not. Regulations are complex. See http://www.salford.gov.uk/d/hmodefinition1-2.pdf
In any the "Ms Skalli was unable to escape because her sash window could only be opened four inches" statement is clearly outrageous. Screwing the windows closed is just plain criminal. Well done to the HSE for bringing the prosecution. It's a shame they didn't jail the b*****d for life.
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Dawn73 | 11/05/2010 9:57 pm
They should be able to ban this person for life from ever being able to rent out a property.... this is why local councils should be inspecting private landlords!
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GreedyDog | 13/05/2010 4:43 pm
The property was a HMO but it had been converted illegally from a single let. Billings did not have planning permission to do so and the property was not registered with the council as a HMO. To give you an idea, Layla Skalli's room was the former living room of the property where she lived. Her light switch was linked to the one in the kitchen - meaning if the kitchen light was turned on in the night her light came on as well. She had to go through the kitchen to go anywhere - including to the staircase, the only means of escape. The HSE is an enforcing authority and in this case its charges were relating to Billings failure to maintain or service the gas appliances. The other charges, relating to the fire, were brought by Norfolk Fire & Rescue Service. Further charges are being brough by Norwich City Council and those will be in court later on - he has denied those, I believe.
The sentence was actually a strong one compared to other similar cases - but rightly so, as this was a truly horrific case. However, the comments from Billings defence were quite bizarre... trying to negotiate a shorter sentence if he paid a £20,000 gesture of remorse to Miss Skalli.
Have a look at reports on the local newspaper website for some interesting articles and a really good blog by crime reporter Ben Kendall...
http://www.edp24.co.uk/content/edp24/news/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&tBrand=EDPOnline&tCategory=xDefault&itemid=NOED07%20May%202010%2019%3A05%3A13%3A273
http://www.edp24.co.uk/content/edp24/blogs/ben-kendall/?PostURL=http%3A//www.edp24.co.uk/CS/blogs/ben_kendall/archive/2010/05/10/2099478.aspx
I was in court for the hearing and his reports and blog are spot on!
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