A Brighton and Hove lettings agent has been fined more than £3,000 for allowing two properties that he owned himself to become fire hazards.

Ahmed Khalil, sole director of Khalil Properties Ltd in Brighton, has pleaded guilty to two charges of putting his tenants at risk of harm in the event of a fire.

The properties were found by council officers to have inadequate fire safety measures which could have endangered the lives of the occupants.

In one property, there was a lack of adequate fire detection and fire doors, non-fire resistant glazing, no fire blanket and an electrical fuse board that was not properly enclosed. There were also inadequate electrical sockets and a lack of loft insulation. 

At the second property work to extend the fire alarm system had not been carried out.

Khalil, who manages 300 properties in the city, was fined £2,400 plus ordered to pay costs totalling £900 and a £120 victim surcharge.

A council spokeswoman says: “Mr Khalil and his company manage a large number of properties in the city and it is great news for his tenants that they can now expect better service and safer places in which to live.”