Suspended sentence for landlord who failed to maintain gas appliances

A landlord who put tenants’ lives at risk by failing to keep gas appliances in good repair has been given a 26-week suspended sentence and electronically tagged for 4 months.

Dawn Holliday (62) was previously served an Improvement Notice by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), requiring her to undertake gas safety checks. She ignored this notice and other requests from the HSE, claiming the tenants had moved out and were not paying rent. This, she claimed, meant that she had no money to maintain the property.

A HSE investigation found this was not true. Ms Holliday was receiving full rent from the tenant for the property on First Avenue in Eastchurch. The tenant was left with a temperamental gas boiler that failed to provide heating and hot water, and which often made loud banging noises.

Appearing at Sevenoaks Magistrates Court, Dawn Holliday pleaded guilty to three charges:

• Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, Section 21

Failure to comply with an Improvement Notice

• Gas Safety (Installation & Use) 1998, Sections 36(2) and 36(3)

Failure to ensure gas fittings are maintained in a safe condition, and failure to maintain such fittings on a regular basis.

District Judge Leake sentenced Ms Holliday to 26 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. She must also wear an electronic tag for 4 months, to monitor an imposed curfew between the hours of 8pm and 6am. The HSE were awarded £750 in costs, payable by Ms Holliday.

To ensure the proper gas safety checks are carried out, the Judge also issued a remediation order pursuant to section 42 of the 1974 Act. This requires Ms Holliday to undertake gas safety inspection by 6 December 2024.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Joanne Williams said:

“We are dedicated to ensuring that landlords operate within the law and provide safe accommodation for tenants.”

“We do not tolerate disregard for health and safety and consider the non-compliance of HSE enforcement notices as a serious offence.

“In this case Ms Holliday chose to flagrantly ignore the support, guidance and warnings from HSE to assist her in compliance with the law and continued placing her tenants at serious risk of injury or even death.

“Wherever possible we will continue to work with landlords to improve health and safety. However, we will not hesitate to take enforcement action where necessary and prosecute individuals who ignore warnings and the law.”

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