Council chiefs are urging landlords to look at fire safety in their houses to prevent a repeat of a fatal blaze.

They want to see a licensing scheme introduced in Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) after 56-year-old Michael John Palmer died in a bedsit fire at in Boxhedge Road, Banbury, on January 23.

Under current legislation, landlords do not need to register their houses with Cherwell District Council and the council cannot prosecute them for not providing smoke alarms.

HMOs require extra fire protection as there is a higher risk of fire, but Mr Palmer's house was not registered with the council so did not receive check-ups.

Cherwell's principal environmental health officer Tim Mills said: "Had we known that this house was used as bedsits we would certainly have inspected it and asked the landlord to carry out fire protection. "There is no formal requirement for landlords to register with us. Until licensing is in place we would urge all landlords to seek our advice about fire protection."

Story date: Thursday 04 February

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