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The social housing regulator has slammed a 500-unit housing association for breaking the law on gas safety and exposing tenants “to the risk of serious harm”.
Creative Support is a housing provider based in Manchester which provides housing for tenants with learning disabilities and mental health needs.
The regulator found that a “significant proportion” of the provider’s homes did not have a valid gas safety certificate at some point between January 2016 and March 2017 and the association failed to tell the regulator.
The regulator noted most of the certificates had been overdue for a “relatively short period”.
“Ineffective systems” had caused a failure to schedule and book gas inspections “in a timely manner”.
The regulator has concluded Creative Support has breached the government’s Home Standard, which requires all providers to meet health and safety legal requirements.
Government regulations require a gas safety check to be carried out on an annual basis and a record of the check must be kept for at least two years.
The regulator said: “Although the certificates were typically overdue for a relatively short period of time, the number of homes affected was high, and represented a significant proportion of Creative Support’s stock with gas fittings. Further, this had been caused by inadequate policies and systems.”
The report added: “This is evidence of a breach of the statutory obligation to carry out gas servicing and thus of the Home Standard. Creative Support did not report this to the regulator in a timely way once it came to light internally.”
The regulator said that taking into account the number of homes affected and the potential risk to tenants, including vulnerable tenants, “the breach of the Home Standard exposed tenants to the risk of serious harm”.
Anna Lunts, chief executive of Creative Support, said: "Creative Support is able to offer assurance to our tenants, partner agencies and stakeholders that all properties we own and lease have current in-date gas safety certificates following inspections which have been undertaken by Gas Safe approved contractors.
"We acknowledge the HCA’s publication today of the Regulatory Notice and we accept the regulator’s finding that a number of the properties that we own which have gas fittings had not had an in-date gas safety certificate for at least some time between January 2016 and March 2017, albeit that as noted by the regulator, most of the certificates had been overdue for a relatively short period. Creative Support takes its responsibilities in respect of health and safety very seriously, including the requirement to comply with the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. It should be noted the there has never been a gas safety related incident in any of the properties which we are responsible for."