Gary Ata: Landlord faces potential second prosecution over London Court flats in Sheffield
A landlord could face a second prosecution after failing to comply with a fire enforcement notice on a block of flats in Sheffield.
South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue issued the notice over concerns about London Court flats on Beeley Street, near London Road, in July.
Owner Gary Ata, of Noble Design and Build, had until October 8 to take action, including measures to reduce the risk and spread of fire, and means of escape.
But after a follow-up visit on October 10, SYFR said the enforcement notice was ‘deemed not to have been complied with’.
A spokesperson said: “The service is considering the next course of action on this matter.
“We have previously prosecuted Mr Ata and will consider any investigations needed in the future.”
London Court has 90 flats over five floors and was completed in 2014.
Many are owned by investors, also called leaseholders, who live outside Sheffield or overseas.
An investor, who asked to remain anonymous, said they were worried about tenants’ safety.
They added: “I’m a responsible landlord, I want everything to be done professionally and in the last few years nothing has been done professionally.
“This man is ruining Sheffield’s reputation with investors, especially in the Far East.”
Mr Ata, who owns six apartment blocks in Sheffield, plus the Old Town Hall, was prosecuted by the fire service over London Court in 2020.
He has also been prosecuted by Sheffield City Council, three times, and has been rapped by the Health and Safety Executive, the Information Commissioner’s Office and the Tribunal Service.
Jade Ata, daughter of Gary, and director of Noble Design and Build, said they had “fully complied” with all fire service requests “whilst we battle with leaseholders over payment for the works that are required.”
The cost fell outside the service charge budget resulting in them serving Section 20 notices on leaseholders (a formal consultation process when a landlord plans major works to a building that leaseholders will have to pay for) which was “ignored by a big chunk of them.”
She added: “Due to the length of time this has gone on, Mr Ata has personally been sourcing funding to pursue the works required to satisfy SYFR.
“Bearing in mind he has no legal obligation to do so, as freeholder he can allow the building to default the enforcement notice and close the building, however he has chosen not to do that and source funding himself to keep it open for the leaseholders that are adhering to their obligations and not let them all suffer a loss of income!
“The cladding on the external wall was removed as requested by SYFR, this has also been done at Mr Ata's expense, with no recompense from the leaseholders to date, this, again, is proof of our commitment to adhering to the requests of the authority of SYFR.
“As of November last year a batch of the leaseholders transferred management to another agent as they promised them higher rents with lower management costs and unfortunately, they have been faced with constant voids, zero income and leasehold expenses to pay, so they have failed to pay their service charge contributions as well as the Section 20 notice contribution.
“Due to the cost of the works this has taken a while to secure and it is not simple and requires specialist attendances from qualified contractors.
“There are no fire safety failings, they are additional remedial works required and investigations into the materials used on the external of the building.”
The SYFR enforcement notice from July states a control system designed to vent smoke is ‘failing to operate correctly’ and should be repaired immediately.
And risks identified in a Fire Risk Assessment dated September 2023 and repeated again in October 2024 have ‘still not been mitigated’, including a fire door survey.
The July inspection also found dirty detector heads in common areas ‘which may delay actuating efficiently’.