Freeholder and Leaseholder ordered to pay over £4,000 by Cardiff Magistrates

Mr. Erdal Kaya and Mr. Erol Kaya were ordered to pay a combined sum of £4,593 for failing to respond to information requests made by South Wales Fire and Rescue Authority (SWFRA) relating to breaches of fire safety within the property.

In October 2022, Business Fire Safety Officers from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS) conducted an annual Prohibition Notice Check at the Tuck in Café on Cowbridge Road East in Cardiff where Mr. Erol Kaya is the Freeholder and Mr. Erdal Kaya the Leaseholder, to ensure that the area prohibited by SWFRS was not being used for any purpose other than those specified in the Prohibition Notice that was issued under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The inspection identified that the Prohibition Notice had possibly been breached and an investigation was undertaken by the inspecting officer.

Officers of SWFRS’s compliance team undertook a further investigation to establish who was responsible for the premises including the fire safety provisions. Throughout the investigation requests were made for information relating to the fire safety provisions within the premises. The information requested from both Mr. Erol Kaya and Mr. Erdal Kaya was not received leaving SWFRA with no option but to pursue the matter through the courts.

Mr. Erdal Kaya and Mr. Erol Kaya were subsequently summoned to attend Cardiff Magistrates Court on 27 July 2023.  Miss. Leah Ellison, of Hugh James, Cardiff, acting on behalf of SWFRA laid out the case against the defendants. Mr. Erdal Kaya and Mr. Erol Kaya were each found guilty of one offence under Article 27 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and were fined a combined total of £4,593 including costs.

This fine could have been avoided if they had simply responded with the required information to SWFRS. The investigation into the fire safety contraventions is still ongoing.

Head of Business Fire Safety Department for SWFRS, Group Manager St. John Towell, said:

“Our role is to enforce fire safety legislation in premises that fall within the scope of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and ensure that these premises are safe. We do this by working with businesses across South Wales to support them to protect their business from risk. In this instance, we went out of our way to seek out basic information to enable us to follow legal protocols.

“The fines and costs received are solely attributed to the failure to provide information. This is a clear message to members of the business community that they need to respond to formal requests made by the Fire and Rescue Service.”

For more information about the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, its impact on your business and how our Business Fire Safety department can work with your business, visit our In Business Page.