Apr

Exclusive: HSE refutes claims by leading landlord that gas safety checks rules ‘unrealistic’ during crisis

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Glasgow housing association chief David Bookbinder says the Health & Safety Executive’s approach to carrying out gas safety checks is ‘stubborn’ in the face of Coronavirus, but HSE says requirements are ‘reasonable’.

Landlords and tenants are coming under relentless pressure from the
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to comply with gas safety checks, making them
feel more uncertain and vulnerable, according to one housing association
executive.

David Bookbinder, director of the Glasgow
and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations, believes the HSE’s approach to carrying out gas safety
checks has been “stubborn, inflexible, unrealistic and hopelessly lacking in
empathy for the tough dilemmas landlords are facing”.

However,
the HSE refutes his allegations and says it’s asking landlords to carry out, “reasonable
steps in line with their duty of care”.

The HSE’s recent bulletin tells landlords: ‘If you are unable to secure the services of your usual engineers, you must make reasonable attempts to obtain alternative services. If your tenant denies the engineer access to the property, you must arrange for the gas safety check to take place as soon as possible.’

Tenant fears

However, not
only is it difficult to arrange for other contractors, says Bookbinder, he believes
there seems to be little recognition of the fears many tenants have about
letting someone into their home. “What we keep getting from HSE remains full of
stark warnings and veiled threats to landlords already feeling uncertain and
often quite vulnerable on this and other COVID challenges.”

An HSE spokeswoman tells LandlordZONE: “Landlords should not suspend gas safety checks during the coronavirus outbreak, they are an essential safety measure to protect people in their own homes.”

But she adds: “The law is
flexible. Where it is not possible to carry out a gas safety check, such as
refusal of access due to tenants self-isolating, or if you are unable to engage
a registered gas engineer to carry out the work due to a shortage of available
engineers, it will normally be enough to show that you took reasonable steps to
do so.”

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