A landlord has been handed a suspended prison sentence after he ignored repeated warnings about arranging an annual gas safety check at his property.
Landlord Handed Prison Sentence for Ignoring Gas Safety
The six-month sentence was suspended for 12 months, during which time he will be electronically tagged and must abide by a curfew between 7pm and 7am for the first three months.
Tariq Ali was given numerous opportunities by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to arrange an inspection at a property he owned in Accrington, after the previous Gas Safety Record expired in October 2012.
Landlords are legally required to have gas appliances checked by a Gas Safe registered engineer at least once a year. However, Ali failed to comply with the law.
Your responsibilities as a landlord can be found in this comprehensive guide from the Gas Safe Register: https://www.justlandlords.co.uk/news/landlords-guide-gas-safety/
Ali was found guilty following a trial at Trafford Magistrates’ Court of single breaches of Regulation 36(3) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
The charges relate to failing to have the gas appliances checked annually and failing to comply with an improvement notice.
Ali must also pay £20,000 towards HSE costs.
The court heard how Ali first came to the attention of the Gas Safe Register in 2011, after gas appliances at several of his properties were considered at risk or immediately dangerous.
The HSE reports that on average, over eight people are killed and almost 330 people are injured every year by carbon monoxide poisoning from gas appliances and fires and explosions caused by faulty gas installations.
It is vital that you take your responsibility as a landlord very seriously and remember to follow the law.