Gas checks: pubco acts

Enterprise Inns is ensuring all tenancy agreements are issued with a valid gas certificate.

The news emerged after a tragic accident where an Enterprise tenant died of carbon monoxide poisoning at a pub that was let to him without a certificate.

The incident raises the question of whether responsibility for carrying out gas safety checks lies with the pub company or tenant.

Paul Lee, who had a tenancy-at-will agreement at the Aintree Hotel in Aintree Road, Bootle, died after a gas fire malfunctioned and carbon monoxide leaked into the flat above the pub.

Lee, who took on the pub one month earlier, had been sleeping upstairs because he couldn't find keys to get into his own house, an inquest heard. A verdict of accidental death was recorded at Liverpool coroners court.

There were no safety checks carried out on the gas fire and there was no gas certificate. Enterprise admitted that the tenancy-at-will agreement was issued with the knowledge that there was no gas certificate.

The pubco has now changed its policy by not issuing tenancy agreements without a valid certificate. The Health & Safety Executive is investigating the incident.

MA legal editor Peter Coulson said pub companies and licensees often have "different and shared responsibilities" when it comes to gas safety in pubs.

Regulations dating from 1998 allow pubcos and tenants to enter into legal agreements about who should be held responsible, Coulson said. "Now is the time for

everyone to check whether they have an up-to-date gas safety certificate and whether their appliances have been approved for use; and also who is ultimately responsible for safety issues in the pub."

Punch Taverns said the type of agreement between the pubco and tenant/lessee determines who is responsible for gas safety checks.

A Punch spokeswoman said contractors actively inspect "a large proportion" of pubs. Anything that needs to be addressed is fed back to a regional property manager, who advises the licensee.

"The responsibility to carry out annual gas safety checks is dependent on the type of agreement between the licensee and Punch.

"For example, with some long-term agreements, the responsibility falls to the licensee. However, with short-term agreements and tenancy-at-will agreements, the responsibility lies with Punch. Across our managed estate, gas safety compliance is checked as part of our annual planned preventative maintenance programme."