UK landlords urged to verify gas safety
Authorities in the United Kingdom are strongly urging landlords to do everything they can in order to ensure that gas appliances and heating systems in rental residential properties are in proper working order. This is seen as major safety issue, as a handful of people die needlessly each year in Britain from gas leaks.
Equally pressing for landlords is the fact that failure to abide by strict gas inspection rules comes with a very hefty fine. Sajida Kausar Ali, a residential landlord, now knows this all too well. Ali has been ordered to pay a massive £4,000 for not having completed necessary improvements of the gas appliances in her properties. According to media reports, one of the other problems was that gas appliances were located in the rooms in which tenants were sleeping in the case of at least one property owned by Ali. This is not permitted under UK safety regulations. Ali had been warned before that she would have to inspect the gas appliances in her rental properties, but—according to media reports—did not comply with these requests.
When authorities did finally go out to inspect the properties in question, they discovered a total of 10 defects. Even more troubling than this was the fact that three of these problems were deemed to pose a direct danger to the tenants. Stephen Manley, a government inspector, noted that regular inspections and the proper upkeep of gas appliances can save a number of lives each year.
Thank you to Sophie Griffiths of Building for the initial report.