A landlord has been prosecuted after risking his tenants’ lives through doing a job himself when he didn’t have the qualifications.
A court heard the landlord carried out dangerous gas work at a rental property in Ilfracombe, North Devon.
Allan King admitted breaking the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
Suspended sentence
King was given a nine month jail term suspended for 18 months, fined £3,000 and ordered to pay £12,180 in costs.
He had replaced a boiler himself despite having no gas work training and not being registered with the Gas Safe Register.
The boiler developed faults and a month later King called a gas engineer for help. On seeing King’s DIY ‘botch job’ the engineer immediately isolated the boiler to make it safe.
An investigation by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) found King had ignored its warnings that only members of the Gas Safe Register work on gas appliances.
The HSE stress landlords have a legal duty to make sure any gas work at their rented properties is only done by members of the Gas Safe Register.
King neither had the ‘competence nor credentials’ to carry out the gas work.
Landlord responsibilities with gas
When letting a property containing gas and gas appliances the following steps are legally required.
- You must make sure gas fittings, flues and appliances are installed and maintained in a safe condition. And you must also follow the manufacturer’s service instructions.
- It’s recommended you have an annual gas safety check by a Gas Safe Register engineer on each gas appliance and flue and a Gas Safety Certificate issued.
- Make sure your tenants are given a copy of the Gas Safety Certificate within 28 days of the check.
- Records of each safety check must be kept for at least two years.
Further information on landlord gas responsibilities can be found here.
