Birmingham lettings agency MT Properties Central Ltd has been fined after its tenants lives were put in danger due to a failure to ensure that gas safety checks were taking place.
The company, which is based in Small Heath’s Green Lane, did not arrange the mandatory gas appliance checks and services at a property it owned in Stechford, and did not confirm that these checks had been performed.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provided the lettings agency with an Improvement Notice on 16th August 2013 after becoming aware that the property may not have had a gas safety record and contacting the company on several occasions.
This notice obliged MT Properties Central Ltd to hire a Gas Safe-registered engineer and to arrange the mandatory safety checks by September 6th 2013, and to provide the HSE with evidence that it had done so.
However, the firm did not adhere to the terms of this Improvement Notice, nor did it ask for the deadline to be extended. As the notice is still in force, HSE is currently awaiting any evidence that the firm has complied with its terms.
The firm admitted breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, and was fined £2,000 with additional costs of £957. HSE Inspector Karl Raw stated that the letting agent had “plenty of time” to comply with the terms of the Improvement Notice, arguing that there was therefore “no excuse” for its failures.
By failing to carry out this duty, the company potentially put people’s lives and their property in danger, he added, saying it had flouted laws that are designed to protect people who are using gas appliances in their home.
Gas safety is important for everyone, but research has shown that tenants in the private rented sector are at particular risk, as their households are disproportionately likely to have unsafe gas appliances.
Our gas appliance cover aims to make it incredibly easy for people to keep their boilers and other gas-fired appliances safe; not only do we provide prompt emergency repairs, but we also arrange annual gas appliance services and other safety checks.
Still having trouble?
Don’t attempt to touch any part of your boiler or central heating system if you’re unsure. Did you know? It’s illegal for anyone to use a gas appliance if they think it’s unsafe. It’s always better to be safe than sorry as you could make things worse.
Instead, call us on 0345 3192 247 and we can help. Our technical team will run through some simple troubleshooting to see if your problem can be resolved on the phone or they can book one of our friendly and knowledgeable Gas Safe registered engineers to get you back up and running as soon as possible.
