HSE warns landlords about gas safety following prosecution

E054:06 08 May 2006

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is today warning landlords to ensure the safe condition of tenants' gas appliances by arranging for CORGI registered installers to carry out annual safety checks and servicing.

This warning follows the prosecution of Paul Clark, a landlord from Southsea in Portsmouth, on Friday 5 May 2006. Mr Clark was fined a total of £42,000, with additional prosecution costs of £18,000, at Winchester Crown Court for breaches of gas safety legislation which led to the fatal carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning of 11-year-old Katie Overton in 2003.

Speaking after the case, HSE Principal Inspector Mike Harrison said: "Katie's death was a tragic reminder of what can happen when gas boilers aren't maintained properly. Landlords of rented properties should remember that gas appliances are subject to annual safety checks; they must also be maintained in a safe condition. This means that gas boilers should be serviced annually in accordance with manufacturers' instructions by a CORGI registered installer as well having annual gas safety checks carried out on them."

Katie Overton died on the night of 29 March 2003 at a rented house in Oxford Road, Southsea, Hampshire. At the time of her death, Katie's parents were renting the property from Mr Clark. The CO fumes came from a gas boiler which was found to be in a poor condition and had not been serviced since 1996. Although the boiler was subject to a number of gas safety checks, none of these had been carried out within the required 12-month intervals.

On 11 April 2006 at Andover Magistrates' Court, Clark pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the boiler was maintained in a safe condition, contrary to Regulation 36(2)(a) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, and also to three charges of not having gas safety checks completed within 12 month intervals, contrary to Regulation 36(3)(a). The case was referred to Winchester Crown Court for sentencing on 5 May.

Clark was fined £20,000 for the failure to maintain the boiler and a total of £22,000 for failure to have gas safety checks carried out within the required period of time. He was also ordered to pay £18,000 prosecution costs.

Notes to editors

1. Regulation 36(2) (a) of the GSIU Regulations 1998 requires landlords to ensure that relevant gas fittings are maintained in a safe condition.

2. Regulation 36(3) (a) of the GSIU Regulations 1998 requires landlords to ensure that gas appliances are checked for safety within 12 month intervals.

3. Having been found guilty of contravening the above Regulations, Mr Clark was thereby guilty of offences under Section 33(1)© of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

4. The Crown Court has the power to impose an unlimited fine in respect of each offence.

5. HSE is currently undertaking a review of the gas safety regime arising from the GSIU Regulations.

6. The involvement of the whole gas industry in raising the awareness of CO issues is welcomed by HSE. HSE is continuing to work with the gas industry towards an industry-wide approach to the funding of public awareness of CO hazards - and other gas safety issues. This is a key issue in the current review of gas safety.

7. Every year 20-30 people die from CO poisoning associated with domestic gas appliances, due mainly to these appliances not having been properly installed or maintained. HSE's role is to enforce the legislation aimed at preventing such tragedies.

8. Around two thirds of fatal incidents would probably have been avoided if appliances had been serviced by a competent installer in the previous year.

9. If you are living in rented accommodation your landlord has a duty to have any gas appliance that they own regularly serviced by a CORGI registered installer and issue you with a copy of the gas safety certificate following the annual safety check. Contact HSE if your landlord does not, on request, provide you with a copy of the certificate.

10. Guidance on domestic gas safety can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/gas/index.htm

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