Landlord fined for illegal and dangerous gas work

Date:

26 May 2011

Release No:

SCO/050/11

A Glasgow landlord who allowed his tenants to live with dangerous gas appliances and carried out gas work in a house and flat he owned despite not being legally qualified to do so has been sentenced.

Mohammed Aslam was not qualified or registered to work with gas when he carried out work at the flat and house he owned in Glasgow between 2007 and 2008.

A Health and Safety Executive investigation found the landlord illegally installed a boiler at a house he owned in Newton Mearns. The gas fire there failed a smoke spillage test and was not properly sealed to the wall. The fire had not been maintained within the past 12 months and HSE inspectors found a risk of the fire producing carbon monoxide.

The landlord also carried out gas fitting work on a boiler at a flat he owned in the Eastwood area of Glasgow. HSE inspectors found the boiler was not properly secured to the fabric of the building and was at risk of falling off the wall. An uncapped gas fire supply pipe in the living room presented an immediate danger to the occupants of the property.

Anyone who carries out work on gas appliances must be on the Gas Safe Register. Householders should ask gas engineers working in their home for their Gas Safe registration card.

HSE Principal Inspector Barry Baker said:

"Every year people die because of dangerous and badly maintained gas appliances. Last year 10 people across the UK died from gas related incidents and hundreds were hospitalised.

"This case demonstrates how easily people can be put at risk after appliances were left in a dangerous condition by someone who was not qualified to carry out gas work.

"Landlords have a duty to make sure that work carried out on gas appliances in their property is safe, and that these appliances are regularly checked by appropriate engineers. Anyone who works on gas appliances must be properly qualified to do so and entered on the Gas Safe Register."

Paul Johnston, chief executive of Gas Safe Register, said:

"Landlords have a legal responsibility to keep all gas appliances working safely and efficiently by having an annual gas safety check and ensuring that only a Gas Safe registered engineer carries out the gas work, no matter how big or small the job. Whether you are a landlord or a tenant, it's important that you understand the laws about gas safety otherwise you could be putting your life or the lives of others in danger."

Mohammed Aslam, of Queen Mary Avenue, Glasgow, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 3(3) and 36(2)(a) and (b) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. He was fined £800.

Notes to editors

1. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice; promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice; and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk
2. In Scotland the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has sole responsibility for the raising of criminal proceedings for breaches of health and safety legislation.
3. Gas engineers undertaking gas installation and maintenance work must be registered with a body approved by the HSE. The approved body is Gas Safe Register. More information and a full list of registered engineers can be found on www.gassaferegister.co.uk
4. Regulation 3(3) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 states "No employer shall allow any of his employees to carry out any work in relation to a gas fitting or service pipework and no self-employed person shall carry out any such work, unless the employer or self-employed person, as the case may be, is a member of a class of persons approved for the time being by the Health and Safety Executive for the purposes of this paragraph."
5. Regulation 36(2) states: "Every landlord shall ensure that there is maintained in a safe condition-(a)any relevant gas fitting; and (b)any flue which serves any relevant gas fitting, so as to prevent the risk of injury to any person in lawful occupation or relevant premises."
6. In 2009/10 10 people died from gas related incidents and 330 were hospitalised, according to HSE figures. These, and other statistics, can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/statistics.

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