Flats landlord put tenants’ lives at risk
A landlord who flouted fire safety laws and put tenants’ lives at risk has been ordered to pay more than £15,000.
Raviv Dozetas, aged 33, appeared at Bolton Magistrates Court yesterday in connection with fire safety issues at a block of nine flats in Bradford Street, Bolton.
The court heard it was “purely luck” that no one had died there.
Council officers visited the flats on October 6 last year, and found the fire alarm was not working.
A specialist fire safety officer from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service issued a notice banning residents from living in the upper floors and firefighters fitted battery-operated smoke detectors as a temporary measure for residents in the ground floor flats. A full inspection was carried out the following day, when fire officers said they discovered fire alarms with missing or incorrect parts and smoke detectors covered with caps.
Self-closing devices had been removed from several fire doors and some of the doors were ill-fitting, meaning they would not stop a fire spreading.
Emergency lighting did not work and there was no firefighting equipment in the building, the court heard.
Dozetas who described himself as CEO of Bolton Lettings — admitted he was responsible for the premises, but had not done a fire risk assessment.
The court heard Dozetas suffered from attention deficit disorder, which meant he struggled with deadlines and dealing with high pressure situations.
Dozetas, of Bury New Road, Salford, pleaded guilty to five breaches of the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005.
He also pleaded guilty to one offence under the Housing Act 2004 in a prosecution by Bolton Council.
He was ordered to pay a total of £15,300 which included fines, costs for the fire service and council, and a victim surcharge.
Peter O’Reilly, the fire service’s director of prevention and protection, said: “Mr Dozetas profited from the rent while putting the tenants at risk.”