By admin 
Sevenoaks landlady Dawn Holliday has been given a suspended prison sentence and given an electronic tag after refusing to comply with an improvement notice to carry out gas safety checks at a rental property.
Tenants at her Eastchurch home had complained that the boiler was temperamental, made banging noises and often failed to produce hot water or heating. The stove was also out of use because it had been condemned.
Guilty
When the HSE presented her with an improvement notice asking her to do this gas safety controls, she ignored it and claimed she didn’t have the money. She also falsely claimed that her tenants had moved out because of her rent.
However, when her case came to trial she pleaded guilty to three charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, section 21 and the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998 36(2) and 36(3).
Holliday was given a 26-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months. The judge also ordered her to be tagged and imposed a curfew between 8pm and 6am for four months. In addition, she was ordered to pay £750 in costs and was given a remediation order to carry out a gas safety inspection.
We will not tolerate disregard for health and safety.”
HSE Inspector Joanne Williams said after the ruling: “We are doing everything we can to ensure landlords act within the law and provide safe housing for tenants.
“We will not tolerate disregard for health and safety and consider failure to comply with HSE enforcement notices to be a serious offence.
“In this case, Ms Holliday chose to blatantly ignore HSE support, guidance and warnings to assist her in complying with the law, and continued to expose her tenants to a serious risk of injury or even death. ”