The first successful eviction of a tenant for gas safety reasons has been secured by Midland Heart Housing Association.
With a legal requirement to carry out an annual inspection of all gas equipment in every residence for which they are responsible, Midland Heart eventually had to resort to legal action in Handsworth, Birmingham, when one tenant refused access to the property for over two years.
Waseem Butt of Midland Heart commented: “The tenant was an engaging young man, but he would not let us have access to the property. There was no rent arrears and no anti-social issues. We tried every avenue open to us to get access to service the gas equipment, but he would not let us in. He was based in a building with multiple occupants and so by not servicing his gas equipment he was putting others in the building at risk. This left us no option but to resort to the courts.”
On Monday 12 September a judge ordered his eviction and Bailiffs carried out the order on the same day.