480.Subsection (1) provides that it is an offence for an accountable person for a regulated building (or a person treated as an accountable person because of section 36) to contravene a requirement imposed on them by the Act or regulations made under it, where that contravention places one or more persons in or about the building at a significant risk of death or serious injury arising from a building safety risk.
481.Subsection (2) provides that it is an offence for a duty holder for a relevant HMO to contravene a requirement imposed on them by the Act or regulations made under it, where that contravention places one or more persons in or about the relevant HMO at a significant risk of death or serious injury arising from a fire safety risk.
482.It is a defence to the offences under this section that the person took all reasonable steps to avoid committing the offence (subsection (7)).
483.The purpose of this section is to make provision, for the most serious breaches of requirements under the Act by accountable persons and duty holders, for the enforcement authority to be able to move directly to prosecution for the breach (as opposed to the authority first serving a compliance notice under section 96 requiring the accountable person or duty holder to take certain steps).
484.If a person is found guilty of an offence under subsection (1) or (2) in a magistrates’ court, the court may impose a fine or a term of imprisonment, or both. There is no maximum limit on the amount of the fine. The maximum term of imprisonment is 12 months (which is the “applicable limit” set out in section 224(1A) (b) of the Sentencing Code; the Sentencing Code is contained in the Sentencing Act 2020 (c. 17)).
485.If a person is found guilty of an offence under subsection (1) or (2) in the Crown court, the court may impose a fine or a term of imprisonment, or both. There is no maximum limit on the amount of the fine. The maximum term of imprisonment is 2 years.
486.A person who has been convicted of an offence under subsection (1) or (2) commits a further offence if they continue to contravene the requirement in question (subsection (5)).
487.An offence under subsection (5) would be tried in a magistrates’ court. If found guilty of the further offence the person may be fined for each day on which the contravention continues (subsection (6)). The standard scale of fines is set out in section 122 of the Sentencing Act 2020.
488.The effect of subsection (3) is that the offences under subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to anything that constitutes an offence under any other provision of this Act and that is subject to the same punishment as an offence under subsection (1) or (2).
Commentary on Sections Offences Section 107 - Contravention giving rise to risk of death or serious injury