Commercial Electricians for South London Landlords

electrician-south-london

Every year sees fines dished out to Landlords in south London for breaches of Fire regulations in houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) and hotel owners. In some cases, it is well deserved when unscrupulous landlords do not carry out suitable safety checks in order to increase their profits.

March 2015 saw a 200K fine given to the owner of a Bayswater hotel for breaches in fire regulations. Apart from tying open fire doors and failing to carry out a fire risk assessment for accomodation in he basement, he was found guilty of ‘inadequate maintenance’ of the fire warning system and emergency lighting. And all this after having been delivered an enforcement notice at an earlier date. Nothing had been done so the courts pulled no punches.

The latter two are what concern us. As commercial electricians in south London, we have installed many fire detection/warning systems as well as emergency lighting. In hotels and HMOs, both systems can be damaged accidentally by cleaners, the occupants, decorators and so on so as well as the regular testing of functions such as the alarm sounder, there should also be regular inspection of the wiring by a qualified electrician. This will ensure that you, as a landlord. will have an early warning of any potential problems and can put things right well before you receive a fire safety visit.

Last year a Leicestershire landlord was given an eight month jail sentence when fire broke out in one of his properties. Fire brigade investigators found that there were no smoke detectors, no proper alarm system and no emergency lighting installed making it very difficult for the tenants to find their way out in the darkness. Happily no-one was seriously hurt in the incident but he could have saved the tenants from this disruption and potentially life threatening situation had he called in a commercial electrician to install the systems required.

It doesn’t take a great deal of time to professionally install a full fire safety system – detectors, central control and sounders plus the emergency lighting, nor does it cost an arm and a leg, especially when compared to the safety of the occupants, a spell inside or a large fine.

So why waste any time? Contact South London Electricians today on 07956 523316 to chat directly with a commercial electrician about testing your existing fire detection, alarm and emergency lighting or installing a brand new system. Make sue that you are not the next landlord to hit the news!

Back to Latest