Judge orders Swindon pair to allow gas safety checks

A JUDGE has ordered two tenants to allow Swindon Borough Council to carry out essential gas safety checks at their homes after they persistently refused to give access to engineers.

Penhill residents Amanda Chubb, of Staverton Way, and Lianne Hodges, of Odstock Road, were summoned to appear at Swindon County Court today after failing to allow the council to carry out gas safety checks despite numerous letters and visits to their properties.

Both council tenants failed to attend today’s hearing, but were given injunctions by Deputy District Judge Horsey which require them to allow their gas systems and appliances to be checked and, if they fail to respond to the order five working days after receiving it, council officers can force entry to carry out the necessary tests. Both tenants were also ordered to pay the £280 court issue fee.

The Council is required to carry out annual inspections and tests on all of the 9,000 domestic gas appliances in its rentable properties under Regulation 38 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) regulations. Gas safety checks are also a condition of tenancy.

Although the gas checks are legally required, there is also a genuine safety risk to tenants if gas appliances are not regularly checked and serviced.

Faulty gas appliances can result in people breathing in poisonous carbon monoxide, which can have severe consequences.

Carbon monoxide is sometimes referred to as the ‘silent killer’. Every year in the UK, more than 200 people go to hospital with suspected carbon monoxide poisoning, which leads to around 40 deaths. Carbon monoxide is difficult to detect because it has no smell, taste or colour.

The Council operates a 10-month programme of gas safety checks, a policy developed by tenants within the Gas safety group and agreed by both tenants and councillors within the Housing Advisory Forum.

The Council is able to access 80% of its properties at the first available opportunity, but does encounter difficulties with a small number of tenants.

Appointments to inspect council homes start three months before a gas certificate is due to expire and tenants are offered flexible appointments during evenings and weekends, while council officers also offer to work with the tenants’ family, friends and support network to enable the gas inspection to be carried out.

Where access is denied, the Council’s Tenancy Services team continue to use a variety of methods to make contact with tenants, which include home visits, phone calls, emails and letters.

Cllr Emma Faramarzi, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Public Safety, said: “We always put the safety of our tenants first, which is why it is crucial we carry out these regular gas safety checks as carbon monoxide poisoning can not only make you extremely unwell, in some cases it can be fatal.

“As this court action shows, if tenants repeatedly fail to allow us to carry out our gas safety checks then we will take legal action.”