A businessman from Coventry has been ordered to pay more than £93,000 in fines and costs after nine people were found sleeping in a dangerous, derelict office block in Peterlee, County Durham. On 24 February 2026, a judge at Durham Crown Court sentenced Tarlochan Singh for several serious fire safety breaches at Ridgemount House.
During a late-night check in October 2022, officers from the County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service found the workers sleeping on the third floor of the building. The group had been working on a nearby building project also owned by Singh. Inspectors described the five-storey block as being in a state of disrepair, with no working fire alarms or emergency lighting.
The court heard that the building lacked any fire risk assessments and that emergency exit routes were blocked. There were also no fire doors, which led the judge to describe the property as a potential death trap. Singh, who is the director of 5th Capital Limited, pleaded guilty to eight different safety failures.
The judge ordered Singh to pay a £48,000 fine within 12 months or face time in jail. He was also ordered to pay £45,711.48 in court costs. The fire service used the case to warn other property managers that neglecting safety rules when using offices for living space will result in severe legal penalties.
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