The warning follows a court hearing of a tenant from Leyland who repeatedly denied New Progress Housing Association engineer’s into their home.
New Progress Housing Association, based in Leyland, was granted the injunction for the lifetime of the tenancy after the tenant ignored numerous correspondences regarding the compulsory annual gas service.
At the hearing at Preston County Court His Honour Circuit Judge Butler found the tenant to have breached the injunction and conditions of their tenancy and fined the tenant £120 as well as ordering them to pay New Progress Housing Association’s court costs.
Bernie Keenan, Managing Director of New Progress, said: “As a landlord, we have a legal duty to carry out annual service of gas appliances in all our properties every 12 months.
“These inspections are free to residents and are scheduled at a time when best suits them. If a resident refuses our engineers access, they are not only in breach of their tenancy agreement but they are placing their lives, and the lives of their neighbours, at risk from carbon monoxide poising and faulty gas appliances.”
Bernie Keenan continued: “We do not like applying for an injunction – as it costs us time and money. However, it is very important that we are able to carry out these inspections for the benefit of residents, their families and neighbours.
“If we do not carry out these inspections, we can be prosecuted.”
If you are a tenant and have refused to allow the annual gas service to take place in your home, call New Progress on 01772 642109 and arrange an appointment for it to take place. The service is free, but the alternative of a court injunction is not.
