Housing association to reinstate gas supply to residents after legal action

The Peabody Trust has agreed to reinstate gas to around 240 homes that have been without supply for several weeks, after it was threatened with a legal challenge.

Law firm Hodge Jones & Allen, which is acting for residents on the Strawberry Vale estate in East Finchley, said it would be bringing compensation claims on their behalf against the housing association.

In a letter to the residents' association, the Peabody Trust said it was working to restore the gas supply for cooking as its preferred option for the estate. "This will mean putting in place a comprehensive set of additional procedures in order to meet all of the requirements – this is known as a ‘Gas Safety Case’.

“The gas supply will be restored in sections to allow our gas contractors to check the system for leaks, and to carry our gas safety checks in every home. We expect to connect around 25 homes each week. As there are 267 homes on the estate, this will take around 10-12 weeks to complete…The first homes will be reconnected in the week of Monday 14th March.”

The gas supply was halted on 20 January this year after National Grid deemed it to be unsafe due to a faulty meter. According to Hodge Jones & Allen, the defective meter was replaced on 22 January 2016 but the Peabody Trust was then unwilling to reconnect the supply.

The law firm applied to the Central London County Court on 19 February 2016 for an injunction to force the trust to re-instate the gas supply, or supply reasons why it could not be done.

A court hearing was due to take place on 4 March but was postponed while the housing association and Hodge Jones & Allen sought expert advice. The trust has now announced that it will reinstate supply.

Jayesh Kunwardia, a partner at Hodge Jones & Allen, said: “This is clearly good news for the residents of Strawberry Vale who have been without gas for more than 50 days.”

Kunwardia claimed that there had been historic breaches of Health & Safety Executive regulations by running the gas supply at this estate without the correct safety procedures in place.

“We are now looking at compensation claims on behalf of the residents against the Trust,” he said. “The Trust’s failure has caused major upset and upheaval for the residents. At this stage I couldn’t predict what claims for compensation will amount to and each will depend on that particular resident’s circumstances. We will need to be directed by the court, but we will be asking the judge to consider awarding damages for not only the major discomfort and inconvenience but also the additional expenses which residents incurred in using the more expensive electric supply and for increased food costs.”

A spokesperson for the Peabody Trust said: “We recognise that this is an extremely challenging time for residents at Strawberry Vale. The delay in restoring gas for cooking is because we are in the unusual position of being classed as a Gas Conveyer at the estate. This means that there are additional requirements and procedures that we need to undertake. On this estate we are subject to regulations that are aimed at companies such as National Grid and large gas distributors rather than housing providers. That is why we considered moving to an electric solution at the estate.

“After receiving advice from a number of gas experts and listening to residents’ views, we are pleased that we can now begin the process of restoring the gas for cooking at Strawberry Vale. We have also discussed our approach with the Health and Safety Executive. Restoration of the gas will need to be done in phases with the first homes being reconnected from Monday 14th March. It will take some time to reconnect the whole estate and we will continue to offer a package of support to residents in the interim. We have appointed a new dedicated Resident Liaison Officer based at the estate to lead this.

“We have no reason to think that the gas supply was previously unsafe. The pipework was substantially renewed in 2008 and a full safety check of the whole system was carried out at that time. In addition all of the normal household gas safety checks that landlords are required to carry out have always been completed.”