A landlord in Lancashire has been jailed and must pay a £10,441 fine including costs after a local fire brigade prosecuted her for six breaches of fire safety regulations at her properties in the seaside town of Cleveleys.

Angela Chang admitted the offences in December last year but has now been sent down following a hearing at Preston Crown Court at which she was sentenced to three months in prison as well as the fine and costs payments.

This follows a visit by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service officers in March 2021 at properties she rented out at two locations in the town where restaurant employees were living as well as a family.

A builder was also on-site completing work at one of the flats (pictured, below).

Ignored

Chang was issued with a Prohibition Order and a Fire Safety Order requiring her to solve the problems found during the initial visit but ignored them both, to her cost.

The six offences Chang has now admitted include failing to ensure the safety of tenants, not completing a fire risk assessment, omitting to fit fire detectors and alarms and not keeping evacuation routes clear, all of which the officers said ‘posed a serious threat to the life and safety of the tenants and anyone else who may visit the property’.

Safe environment

“Angela Chang is the responsible person for these premises, and as such has a legal duty to ensure that people who use her premises are provided with a safe environment,” says Ian Armistead, Protection Department Group Manager for Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (pictured).

“We hope that this prosecution will ensure that the standard of her properties is kept within the requirements of the law.

“In our constant drive to make Lancashire safer, our fire safety enforcement teams are always actively seeking out other dangerous premises.

“We would hope that the outcome of this particular case where a custodial sentence has been issued, sends a clear message that fire safety must always be a priority. In this instance the consequences of the inadequate fire safety measures and inadequate management could have led to serious injury or loss of life and circumstances left us with no other option but to take this action.”

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