The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham has been fined £83,600 for failing to arrange annual safety checks on gas appliances in tenanted accommodation.
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The local authority is required by law to arrange annual checks by a Gas Safe registered engineer and keep and maintain gas safety records for all the properties it provides in its capacity as a landlord.
However, an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed it failed to provide adequate certification for appliances in scores of properties under its control between April 2008 and July 2010.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard today (11 July) that HSE uncovered the failings after a tenant at Stewarts Lodge, a multi-occupancy emergency hostel, complained that a gas safety certificate wasn’t available.
Checks at the hostel on 10 July 2009 found that a gas safety record for the property, which contained several gas cookers and other appliances, had expired on 4 April 2008 – 15 months previously.
HSE asked the local authority to provide a ‘lapse table’ for other properties where annual safety checks had slipped and was given a list of 297 properties. Twenty were subsequently investigated by HSE and all were found to contain gas cookers or boilers that should have been checked at least every 12 months.
HSE prosecuted London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham for nine separate breaches of Regulation 36(3)(a) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 in relation to lapsed checks, with a further 14 breaches taken into consideration in agreement with the defendant.
The local authority pleaded guilty to all nine breaches and was fined a total of £83,600 and ordered to pay full costs of £15,553.
After the hearing, HSE Inspector Nicola Maisuria said:
“Carbon monoxide can kill quickly without warning and approximately 20 people die each year as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning from gas appliances and flues that have not been properly installed, maintained or that are poorly ventilated.
“As a landlord, the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham is legally responsible for the safety of its tenants in relation to gas safety. In failing to carry out the required annual gas safety checks on appliances in its properties, and maintain records of each safety check, the authority could have exposed tenants to additional potential risks of Carbon Monoxide poisoning.
“The Council has now instigated a new monitoring and control regime to improve safety and to meet its legal obligations as a landlord. I welcome this improvement, and I hope today’s prosecution sends a clear message to other local authorities and all landlords that they must ensure they carry out all necessary gas safety checks.”
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