Suspended prison sentence after private tenants' lives were endangered

The landlord of a property risked the lives of his tenants and their young family by not undertaking annual safety checks on gas appliances in the property and by undertaking gaswork which was found to be dangerous, a court has found.

Paul Perry was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive at Plymouth Crown Court following an investigation.

HSE began inquiries when a registered gas engineer went to a tenanted property in the city in September 2015 to undertake a safety check but found a gas leak on a gas pipe and reported the incident to HSE.

During the investigation it became apparent that the tenant had asked Perry for a copy of the landlord’s gas safety certificate earlier in 2015 but Perry had failed to produce it.

During the investigation it emerged that Perry had not had a gas safety check done at his tenanted property for at least seven years despite it being a legal requirement to have the gas safety check undertaken every year to ensure the safety of tenants.

It also emerged that he had undertaken work on the gas pipe to the cooker at the property despite the fact that he had no training in gaswork and was not registered to undertake any gaswork. The work that he undertook resulted in a gas leak at the property.

Perry pleaded guilty to two breaches of gas safety regulations. He was sentenced to 10 months in prison, suspended for 15 months, and ordered to pay costs of £4,000.