Health and Safety Failings – Landlord fined for gas safety failings

Landlord fined for gas safety failings

Key Facts

• A landlord has been prosecuted for failing to provide gas safety certificates for two of his properties.
• The investigation began following a complaint from a tenant.
• The landlord was ordered to undertake 240 hours of community service, and pay full costs.

The Case

An HSE investigation was launched into the practices of a private landlord following a complaint from a tenant.

Following the complaint, an Improvement Notice was issued to the landlord by the HSE failing to provide gas safety certificates for gas appliances in his property. He failed to comply with the notice and during the subsequent investigation, it was found that a second of the landlord’s property was also lacking a gas safety certificate.

The case was heard at Harrogate Magistrates’ Court on 5 Jan 2016 where the landlord pleaded guilty to breaching Section 33 (1) g of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, Section 36 (3) and Section 36 (6) of the Gas Safety Installation and Use Regulations. He was ordered to pay costs of £2,767 and undertake 240 hours of community service.

What the law states:

Section 33 (1) g of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states:

It is an offence for a person to contravene any requirement or prohibition imposed by an improvement notice or a prohibition notice (including any such notice as modified on appeal) 

What the HSE had to say:  

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Julian Franklin said:

‘If you rent property out, you must comply with requirements of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations, including the need to have a gas safety certificate. Gas appliances should be regularly checked, as faulty appliances can kill.’

Find more about Gas Safety here >>

Find details of our safety training courses here 

Follow us on twitter: @safety_matters

Don’t hesitate to get in touch if we can help you find a solution to your safety matters.