The first floor flats had been deemed unfit for sleeping in but when the blaze broke out there were “in excess” of eight tenants in their beds

A fire which broke out in a residential Sheffield building exposed a “labyrinthine” rabbit warren of HMO flats - with no fire exit, no fire doors and no fire alarm, a court heard.

The first floor flats at 145 to 153 Spital Hill had been deemed unfit for sleeping in but when the blaze broke out on December 15, 2024, there were “in excess” of eight tenants in their beds.

Landlord Shakeel Shah leaving Sheffield Crown Court | Iconic

placeholder image — Landlord Shakeel Shah leaving Sheffield Crown Court | Iconic

Their landlord Shakeel Shah, aged 67, who owned the entire building in which businesses including restaurants and a bakery were located on the ground floor, was described as having a “blasé” attitude and a “flagrant disregard for the law”.

Tony Watkin, prosecuting, told Sheffield Crown Court he had “no doubt” Mr Shah’s businesses was “profitable at the expense of safety”.

On December 15 the fire service was called out to a fire at one of the flats which burned “straight through” to a business unit below, said Mr Watkin.

He said: “That was the result of a failure by the defendant to ensure there was compartmentation (fire resistant materials) between the two premises.”

Mr Watkin said firefighters were “concerned” that the fire exit was an “unlit courtyard” “full of rubbish” with a “padlocked gate“.

And there was no fire alarm and no emergency lighting, the court heard.

However despite being served with a closure order, Shah, who failed to find alternative accommodation for his tenants, then allowed two people to sleep in the flats between December 15 and December 18.

The building, 145 to 153 Spital Hill | Google

Mr Watkin said: “A fire occurred when people were sleeping in that building - it’s a complete lack of fire safety for the inhabitants.”

Shockingly, the court heard business tenants below the HMOs included “restaurants” which had been the sites of two fires in the “immediate past”.

Mr Watkin said a probation report described Shah’s attitude as “blasé” and he had “blamed the occupiers” for the fire.

Crucially, he had never had a fire risk assessment carried out on the building before the December 15 blaze, the court heard.

By mid-January, following enforcement from the council and the fire service, Shah had begun putting in the required fire safety measures and had completed them by the end of June 2025, the court heard.

Shah, a carer for his elderly parents and a “very active” grandfather, was described as “the glue holding his family together” by his barrister David Hewitt.

He added the piled-up rubbish in Shah’s courtyard belonged to the commercial businesses downstairs but he accepted this was his responsibility.

The court heard Shah had been a landlord since 1995 and had become “stuck in his ways”.

Shah, of Osgathorpe Road, Fir Vale, Sheffield, admitted failing to comply with an enforcement or prohibition notice and failing to provide fire safety equipment and a fire door.

Recorder Harry Vann, who noted Shah had done “little to show insight”, told him: “There was a high likelihood of death or catastrophic injury in respect of the fire. At least eight people were at risk.

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“The prosecution say the offences mean putting profit before safety but in my judgement the evidence falls short of a deliberate decision to put profit before safety.”

Shah admitted failing to comply with an prohibition notice, failing to take fire precautions, failing to provide compartmentation, failing to have a fire assessment in place and failing to provide a fire door, alarm and fire safety equipment.

He was handed 12 months’ jail suspended for 18 months, ordered to pay a £10,000 fine and £20,000 court costs.

The court heard Shah had assets worth around £200,000 and an income of around £83,000 a year.