Dad of teenager who died after fire at Croydon home without working smoke alarm in safety plea to landlords
By Tara O’Connor, Local Democracy Reporter
The father of a 13-year-old boy who died after a Thornton Heath house fire has encouraged landlords to take responsibility for the safety of rented homes.
His comments come as his former landlords have been told to pay £14,858 for illegally renting out a house without working smoke alarms.
On March 25, 2019 the Matope family home caught fire. Firefighters attended the scene, but 13-year-old Kuzi Matope died in hospital on April 2.
The teenager’s father, Patrick Matope, said: “It is heart-breaking to look back. Kuzivakwashe was a son we loved so much. We miss him every day.
“He was a very kind, happy, loving, active, well-behaved son who loved going to church. He loved his two younger brothers so dearly and they both miss him, too.”
The cause of Kuzi’s death has yet to be determined at an inquest, but neither of the two smoke alarms found at the house worked.
The house did not have a Croydon council landlord licence, which includes fire safety checks.
At Croydon Magistrates’ Court on Monday, Innocent and Clementia Mukarati, of Hatherwood, Leatherhead, Surrey, pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to license the property in Camden Gardens under section 95 of the Housing Act 2004.
After the fatal fire it was discovered that Mr Mukarati 50, and Mrs Mukarati, 47, had not applied for a licence – a legal requirement for all privately-rented homes in Croydon since 2015.
The married couple were ordered to each pay a £787.50 fine, a £78 victim surcharge and £6,563.42 in court costs.
Mr Matope added: “It’s good that the council has come up with this scheme as we think it ensures that landlords take their responsibility seriously and we would encourage private tenants to check if their property is on the register.”
District Judge Nicholas Easterman said that the case was about a failure to license the property and that he could not consider the fire.
He added: “It is clear that the smoke alarms were not working; it is not possible to know how long for.
“Had the defendants known of the licensing provisions they might have been more active in the care taken over these sorts of matters. This did not have a material effect on the tragic events which unfolded.”
The couple will now be added to the Mayor of London’s rogue landlord database, and could also be listed on a similar national database run by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
The council is running a public consultation until March 9 on proposals to renew the contract for the landlord licensing scheme after its five-year term expires on September 30. To view the consultation, visit the council website here.
Pictured top is Kuzi Matope. Inset is the house in Camden Gardens, Thornton Heath
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my heart literally stopped after reading this. everything could of been prevented. it has been a year today, since i found out he was put in a hospital and she in a few days a year since he died. A YEAR and i still cry every night. this is terrible. i cant .