A lettings agency’s failure to arrange a £60 gas safety certificate has cost it almost £3,000. MT Properties Central, based in Small Heath,Birmingham, failed to arrange the statutory gas safety check on the property, and subsequently failed to produce any confirmation that the checks had been carried out. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was made aware of concerns over the existence of a gas safety record for the property and tried several times to get a response from the company. It then issued an Improvement Notice on August 16, 2013.
Birmingham Magistrates’ Court heard on Friday that the Notice required MT Properties to employ a Gas Safe registered engineer to carry out the necessary checks by September 6, 2013, and produce evidence that the notice had been complied with. However, the company failed to comply with the notice or to request an extension. The notice remains open today and HSE is awaiting evidence of compliance.
MT Properties Central pleaded guilty to breaching the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay costs of £957. HSE inspector Karl Raw said after the hearing: “MT Properties Central had plenty of time to comply with HSE’s enforcement notice, so there was no excuse for failing to do so, particularly for a property management and letting business. A gas safety check by a registered engineer can be organised quickly and easily and cost as little as £60.
By not carrying out their duty as the agent of the landlord, MT Properties Central potentially put lives and property in danger by flouting the laws that are designed to protect people in their homes while using gas appliances.
At Belvoir, we make it our first priority to see that a property (and therefore the landlord) complies with ALL current and imminent legislation, and if that should involve extra works or costs to a landlord then it still has to be completed. Gas safety, along with electrical safety, are some of the biggest concerns of tenants, and our duty of care to them is paramount. Often we meet potential landlords who wish to rent out their property yet still refuse to pay out a penny making it safe, secure, dry and habitable. Our reputation is well known around these parts as being very strict and we will never tolerate such practices, nor support those who think that this approach is acceptable. As a new landlord or investor, make sure you ask the right questions of your agent - in fact, how about approaching it like this "Would I allow my children to live in such a property?" If the answer is no, then why would you expect someone else to?
For further advice as to how you are required to protect your tenants, and to understand your responsibilities as a new landlord, call us on 01908 562582 or pop into our offices for a chat at any time.
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