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Landlords must put safety first when renting out their properties or face huge fines that can seriously dent your finances and put your whole investment at risk.

A landlord has been ordered to pay over £20,000 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to breaches of fire safety legislation, according to the London Fire Brigade.

City of Westminster Magistrates' Court fined Mohammed Khan for seven breaches of the fire safety codes. The court fined him because of numerous infractions including no fire safety procedures in place or a way of informing tenants about fire safety arrangements, storage was blocking the escape route and smoke alarms have either been removed or had low batteries inside them. There was also no fire risk assessment for the premises.

Steve Turek, assistant commissioner for fire safety regulation says: “Housing providers have to carry out a fire risk assessment and even more importantly act upon its findings in a timely manner. Landlords have to know their responsibilities to protect and inform their residents if a fire breaks out. The result of not taking appropriate action can have very serious consequences.”

Landlords must abide by all the rules or face the consequences. Simple, cheap arrangements such as fire safety and gas checks could be the difference between making a profit and missing mortgage repayments due to huge losses. It doesn't take long and frankly it is not rocket science – but not doing your job correctly may mean that your buy-to-let investment might be at risk.

SOURCE: London Fire Brigade, 23/11/09

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