ROGUE LANDLORD FACES FLATS RAP

Owner of fatal fire property caught flouting lifetime ban

DEATH-TRAP landlord Harpal “Harry” Singh could face criminal charges for renting out flats without a licence.

Glasgow City Council banned him for life from renting out flats after he was jailed following a 1999 fire at one of his flats in the city’s Woodlands.

Two students, James Fraser and Daniel Heron, died in the blaze.

In 2013, Singh applied to be a landlord again. Since then, council officers have been building a case against him. They visited 14 of his BY ALAN FERGUSON reporters@dailyrecord.co.uk flats and found them to be lacking in basic fire safety equipment.

In March this year, Singh was exposed for illegally renting out properties. He has now has been reported to the procurator fiscal for operating two unlicensed multiple-occupation flats.

The council have also enforced rent penalty notices, which make it an offence to generate an income from renting out the flats.

A spokesman said: “There has been no appeal from the landlord concerned. Tenants are being advised that these notices mean they are no longer required to pay rent.”

Singh appeared before the council’s licensing and regulatory committee on March 28, where councillors condemned his actions.

Convener Alex Wilson said: “Any criminal charges brought against rogue landlords are only to the betterment of the city.”

Singh was sentenced to 30 months in prison for lying to the fatal accident inquiry after the 1999 fire. He falsely claimed the property had smoke alarms.

A sheriff ruled the two victims would likely have survived if there had been a working smoke alarm and if there were not metal bars over the basement flat’s windows.