On 13th May 2020, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) provided further guidance to landlords regarding annual gas safety inspections.
A copy of the guidance can be found here.
Landlords are still required to ensure that appropriate gas safety inspections are completed in accordance with statutory obligations. Whilst the duty to carry out a gas safety inspection remains, it is widely accepted that there has to be a balance between ensuring that tenants are protected from the risks arising from not completing a gas safety inspection (e.g. carbon monoxide poisoning or gas explosion) and the risk of exposure to COVID-19.
If landlords are unable to gain access to carry out gas safety inspections because the tenant is self-isolating or has been advised to shield, it is recommended that all reasonable steps taken to access a property are documented, including methods and outcomes of all communication. In addition, it would not be surprising if at this time some organisations are unable to arrange inspections as they are experiencing staffing shortages amongst engineers. If this is the case then this too should be recorded in detail.
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has confirmed that where COVID-19 restrictions prevent landlords from meeting routine obligations, they will take a proportionate regulatory approach that takes full account of the current operational challenges.
Comment
Whilst the current guidance points to a pragmatic approach it does not absolve landlords from their obligation to ensure gas safety checks are completed. Social landlords should continue to identify properties with safety checks that need completing and prioritise any high risk properties (e.g. those occupied by vulnerable tenants / those with known issues of hoarding / those tenants who have a history of non-engagement with access requests).
Social landlords should attempt to contact tenants directly prior to appointments being made to discuss whether anyone in the household is self-isolating or if anyone has been advised to shield. If you deem it is safe to attend the property, you should discuss with the tenant the social distancing and hygiene measures that should be followed during the inspection. Social landlords will have to carefully consider each situation on a case-by-case basis and the merit of taking further action if access cannot be obtained. If landlords are not aware of any specific Covid-19 related issues preventing access, the usual procedures ought to be followed and progressed through to injunction stage, if appropriate.
Landlords also need to be mindful of the practical difficulties associated with obtaining injunctions at this time, including the fact that it is highly likely that any injunction hearings issued at the current time will be listed for a telephone hearing and if tenants do not have a telephone, or fail to provide a telephone number to the court, the hearing may be adjourned off to a later date when a face to face hearing can take place.
Ultimately, landlords need to be able to demonstrate that they have done all they reasonably can in these challenging times to continue to comply with statutory obligations. Clearly, some factors will be outside of a landlord’s control (e.g. engagement from a tenant / court listing times) and there will need to be a recognition of that. As such, if landlords are unable to comply with statutory obligations and regulatory standards due to COVID-19, they should notify the regulator as promptly as possible.
If you have any questions in relation to the above, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Housing & Regeneration team.
