A landlord who failed to arrange gas safety checks for eight years while a mother and her five children lived at his property has been fined £2,400, raising questions about whether the penalty reflects the seriousness of the offence.
Adam Evans was also ordered to pay £5,000 in prosecution costs, bringing his total court bill to £7,400. The case highlights the consequences of failing to meet basic landlord safety obligations and raises a wider question for the lettings industry: are financial penalties a sufficient deterrent?
Eight years without checks
Evans owned a rental property on Salisbury Drive in New Ferry, Wirral. His tenant had lived there since 2016, but no annual gas safety checks had been carried out during her eight-year tenancy.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launched an investigation in October 2024 after Wirral Borough Council raised concerns. Investigators asked Evans to provide the property's gas safety records. He produced a certificate dated November 2024, following the intervention. However, he could not provide any records covering the previous eight years.
Evans, of Brownlow Road, New Ferry, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 36(3) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. At Wirral Magistrates' Court on 8 October, he received a £2,400 fine and was ordered to pay £5,000 in costs.
HSE criticism
HSE inspector Ian Betley was critical of the landlord's conduct. “Adam Evans showed a complete disregard for the law and put the lives of a mother and her children at risk.
“The case highlights a serious failure by him to comply with well-established gas safety requirements.
“Annual gas safety checks are a legal duty and are in place to protect tenants from very real and potentially fatal risks.
“Landlords must ensure that gas appliances and flues are properly maintained and inspected by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Failure to do so will not be tolerated and enforcement action will be taken.”
Does the punishment fit the offence?
The £2,400 fine represents £300 for each year without the required annual gas safety checks. Although Evans faces a total bill of £7,400, most of that amount relates to prosecution costs rather than the fine itself.
The distinction raises questions about whether penalties provide a meaningful deterrent, particularly when failures continue over several years. For letting agents, the case also reinforces the importance of maintaining accurate compliance records and ensuring annual inspections take place.
The prosecution follows a separate HSE warning about the dangers of unregistered gas work.
