Landlord put on notice to ensure gas appliances are maintained
30/03/2009
A landlord with 193 properties across the UK has been put on notice not to repeat the failings that led the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to prosecute him for not complying with an Improvement Notice served on him to provide one of his tenants with a gas safety certificate.
On 26 March, Mr Ajay Ahuja from March in Cambridgeshire pleaded guilty at Northampton Crown Court to contravening Section 33(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 for failing to comply with an Improvement Notice served by HSE. He was given a two year conditional discharge and ordered to pay costs of £14,000.
The Improvement Notice was served following repeated attempts by HSE to get Mr Ahuja to provide his tenant with a gas safety certificate for the gas boiler in a rented property in Corby, Northamptonshire.
All landlords have a duty under the Gas Safety (Installations and Use) Regulations 1998 to annually check the safety of the gas appliances in properties they rent out to others and provide a confirmation certificate.
At the hearing, His Honour Judge Corrie stressed that the authorities are right to be vigilant concerning such infringements - not only in terms of the individual, but also to maintain public confidence.
He said: "For landlords large and small, there is a need to protect the public, particularly those who rent properties, to guard against gas explosions, which are potentially fatal. Not only this, but also asphyxiation."
After passing a two year conditional sentence on Mr Ahuja he stated that "the spotlight was upon him" to ensure that he did not again infringe these requirements.