Owners of fire hazard properties fined £28,000

Saturday 05 January 2019

People “could have been killed or injured” in two properties filled with fire hazards, the owners were told as they were handed a £28,000 fine in the Royal Court.

Alfred Samuel John de Gruchy and daughter Veronica Scott, directors of property management company Continental Development, were sentenced yesterday after admitting failing to obtain fire safety certificates for two properties they rent on La Route de St. Aubin.

Numerous hazards were discovered at the homes during routine inspections by fire officers.

Crown Advocate Conrad Yates told Court the first property was in unsatisfactory condition, with padlocks on all seven bedrooms and unsafe electrical cables at risk of sparking and overloaded extension cables being used in place of properly fitted wiring and sockets.

Pictured: Fire service officers found a number of failures and fire hazards in both houses.

In addition, half of the smoke detectors alarms did not work and flammable materials were found around the house. Two of the fire extinguishers in the property were also out of date, while a third one was empty.

Problems in both properties were found to be so serious that fire officers were forced to serve an Article 9 Prohibition Notice, restricting access to the property until changes can be made. 

In an interview, De Gruchy said he didn’t know the properties needed fire safety certificates. 

He claimed he didn’t routinely inspect any of the properties he owns. 

The Crown Advocate said that since De Gruchy had over 70 years’ of experience in letting and an extensive portfolio of properties, he should have been aware of his legal responsibilities.

Pictured: Advocate Nuno Santos-Costa was defending De Gruchy, his daughter and the company he owns, Continental Development Limited.

Representing De Gruchy, Scott and the company, Advocate Nuno Santos-Costa told court that the problems were the tenants’ fault. 

“Mr De Gruchy let these two properties to two individuals and he did so in the understanding that they would be occupied by one sole family. 

“What he didn’t know was that immediately after the tenants agreed this, these two tenants changed the configuration of the property… put padlocks on all the rooms and turned the houses in lodging houses, receiving rent week to week.” 

He nonetheless admitted that De Gruchy was at fault for not inspecting the premises regularly, but added that there was not much he could have done to avoid the situation he found himself him.

“He unfortunately trusted his tenants… He considers himself to be a good and sympathetic landlord who would rather have a good tenant who pays less than a bad tenant paying a lot of money.”

Pictured: De Gruchy and his daughter said both houses were meant for single household.

He told Court that De Gruchy hadn’t gained anything from the subletting and had in fact lost “thousands and thousands afterwards to redo the property”, while no rent was coming in.

He also said that De Gruchy was saddened that his character was called into question at the age of 97, given his previously unblemished record. De Gruchy also expressed regret that his daughter  was “dragged into this”, given that she had never dealt with the tenants herself.

Deputy Bailiff, Tim Le Cocq, who was sitting with Jurats Geoffrey Grime and Collette Crill, described the breaches as serious, warning: “People could have been killed or injured.”

“Landlords can’t take a candid view of their obligations, they must be sure they have complied with the obligations,” he added.

He imposed a total fine of £28,000, and gave the company two weeks to pay.