Landlord pleads guilty to endangering lives of tenants

Abdul Manik, the owner of a property in Plymouth, Devon, has pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety regulations, along with putting the lives of his tenants in danger.

A dangerous gas boiler was discovered by a gas engineer who was registered with Gas Safe. When called out to carry out some work at the Plymouth property, the engineer discovered that the gas boiler had serious problems, which would place the tenant and the building in immediate danger. The engineer disconnected the boiler and notified the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) which launched an investigation.

Plymouth City Council had also alerted the HSE when it had not received gas safety certificates for some of the flats at Meadfoot Terrace in Plymouth. Manik had been asked by Plymouth City Council to provide the certificates on several occasions, although he did not comply.

An Improvement Notice was served on Manik by the HSE, informing him he had to conduct maintenance and gas safety checks by a specified date. The boiler, which had been declared to be unsafe, was replaced by Plymouth City Council. Manik pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and also the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. He was ordered to pay costs of £2,817 and fined £20,000.

According to an inspector for HSE, landlords have a duty of care to tenants, including carrying out maintenance and safety checks to prevent death or injury. These regulations also apply to employers who have to provide specialist workwear and PPE where necessary to keep workers safe.