Court orders gas safety check

Tuesday 26 August 2008

Homes for Haringey is getting tough on tenants who refuse to let engineers into their home to do an annual gas safety check.

By law, Homes for Haringey must inspect the gas supply pipe and appliances to each Haringey Council tenant’s home once a year. Every year however a few tenants repeatedly ignore appointments or refuse entry.

From now this will no longer happen. As the landlord, Haringey Council can apply to the court for a warrant to force entry into a council tenant’s home to allow access for the annual gas inspection.

Tottenham Magistrates Court issued 11 warrants on Monday 18 August. The tenants, mainly from Wood Green and Tottenham, have been informed of the procedure and the date the engineer will carry out the gas safety check. If they still refuse access, Council officials can immediately enforce the warrant and force entry into the property.

More warrants will be issued for properties where safety checks remain overdue.

Bob Watts, Executive Director of Repairs, said: “Most tenants know a potentially life saving free gas safety check makes sense and let us get on with our job. The few who don’t are putting themselves and their neighbours at risk.

“Getting warrants to force these tenants to let us in will ensure that every council tenant’s home is up to the gas safety standard required by law and our performance rate is 100%. We can not rest until we have certified that every home is safe every year. It is in everyone’s interests to allow access at the earliest possible stage.”

Engineers do a thorough check of all gas pipes and gas appliances including boilers, cookers and fires and certify the property safe. All tenants are then provided with a copy of the gas safety certificate which is valid for 12 months.

Obtaining a warrant is a last resort. Alternative methods to inform and alert tenants have been used. Last year over 100 tenants who refused access came home to find their front doors covered with yellow tape. The tape, which needed to be removed to get into the property, alerted the tenant, in six community languages and English, to the fact that a safety check is overdue and they must make an appointment.

Ends

Notes to editors

About 16,000 council tenants in Haringey have gas central heating or appliances in their home.

Home for Haringey has three gas contractors (Oakray Ltd., T A Horn and Purdie)  

Homes for Haringey is the Arms Length Management Organisation managing Haringey Council’s housing stock since April 2006.

Homes for Haringey is responsible for:

• Meeting the Decent Home Standard
• Services to approx 21,000 council owned properties: 16,700 tenanted and 4, 500 leasehold
• Tenancy and estate management
• Housing management of supported housing
• Rent collection and arrears management
• Repairs and maintenance
• Leasehold management
• Resident involvement

To talk to someone about this news item, please contact us:

Email:communications@homesforharingey.org

Tel: 020 8489 2998

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