Landlord’s failure to organise gas safety costs him £13,000

A landlord will have to pay nearly £13,000 after he repeatedly failed to arrange gas checks in a property.

Mohammed Nawaz, 25, was prosecuted for two offences of breaching gas safety regulations, and one offence of failing to comply with an enforcement notice issued by the Health and Safety Executive.

HSE told Slough Magistrates’ Court that its investigation revealed that the gas appliances had not been maintained and checked for four years. The family living at the property had not been given a gas safety certificate.

When a Gas Safe Register engineer visited the property, a boiler was classed as ‘At Risk’ because of an inadequate seal around the flue and incorrectly-sized gas supply pipes to the boiler.

Despite warnings and an enforcement notice from HSE, plus an abatement notice from the local council requiring him to comply with the law, Nawaz failed to respond.

Nawaz, of Bath Road, Slough, Berkshire, was fined a total of £9,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £3,941.

After the case, HSE inspector Karen Morris said: “Mohammed Nawaz failed to take seriously his duties and responsibilities as a landlord and the result was to put a family – including two children – at risk of significant harm.

“There is no excuse for landlords failing to ensure that gas appliances in rented properties are properly maintained and subject to annual safety checks. These are simple and inexpensive measures, but they are vital for the safety of the people living in the premises.

“HSE takes gas safety issues very seriously and we will take enforcement action when necessary.”

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