Our home safety team, in collaboration with our solicitors, has successfully obtained court orders to enter two of our homes that were long overdue for their annual gas safety inspections.
A repeated lack of cooperation from the tenants involved meant we had no other option but to pursue legal action. This was not something we chose to do, as it meant our team having to spend time and resources going to court. In both cases the court decided that the associated costs were the responsibility of the tenants - so they have ended up having to pay.
As a landlord, we're legally responsible for our tenants' gas safety, and the landlord-owned appliances within their home. This is a responsibility we take very seriously, and it means we must arrange for a Gas Safe registered engineer to carry out a gas safety inspection check every 12 months. Our tenants must allow us access for this purpose, as detailed in their tenancy agreement. Failure to do so means that we can end up having to take legal action to gain entry to their home.
Following the court orders, one inspection has now been completed, and the other has been scheduled for early next week.
Gas safety check due over Christmas?
If you're one of our tenants whose annual gas safety check is due over the coming festive period, and you're worried this may affect your celebrations, please contact us or our contractors K&T Heating as soon as possible so we can try to organise a mutually-convenient appointment earlier in December to have this completed. We recommend the check is carried out before the festive period rather than postponed until the new year - a delay may pose a safety risk, and could result in us having to take legal action to gain access.