More than 100 residents in a Birmingham apartment block were left without fire protection recommended by industry experts after the Grenfell Tower tragedy, a court has heard.
Middlesex-based real estate firm Avamore pleaded guilty to failing to comply with an improvement notice requiring a National Fire Chiefs Council L5 Fire Alarm System to be installed in one of the blocks at Solihull Heights on Coventry Road.
At a hearing on Thursday, May 21, Birmingham Magistrates Court was told that Block A, the tallest of three blocks and the one requiring the works, is occupied by approximately 160 people.
Yasmin Osman, prosecuting, said a notice was first served on the company in May 2025, with the works required to be completed by November last year. However, between August and September 2025, Avamore failed to provide updates or communicate with Birmingham City Council.
The company later confirmed the block was to be fitted with 64 fire detectors, but Ms Osman said no evidence of this work had been produced. When the work was not carried out by November, a compliance meeting was arranged but later cancelled due to illness.
Ms Osman said: "This is a flagrant disregard. The defendant was issued with an improvement notice and there was no application for an extension or an amendment. Post Grenfell, which is what I use as a reference, there was a serious risk of harm."
She added: "As of Tuesday, May 19, we have been told the works have been complied with but have not seen the evidence."
Mohammed Khan, defending, said the company's early guilty plea was an "early admittance of failures which showed remorse". He said: "The company informs me that it was not a blatant disregard of the notice. By November, it should have been done. There have been problems not just with contractors but also with some of the residents and tenants. Having access to the premises is not as simple as knocking the door and then fitting the alarm. Delays in the works is not a reasonable excuse. But the improvement notice has now been complied with."
The case was adjourned for sentencing, which will take place on June 18.
