Guide
TM44 penalties: the £300 charge, the £200 charge, and enforcement
Updated
This is the part of the regime almost nobody reads until a letter arrives. The amounts are fixed in the regulations, the enforcer is your local Trading Standards, and the appeal route has a short clock on it.
The two fixed penalties
- No inspection report: £300
- Gov.uk states that the penalty for failing to have an air conditioning inspection report is fixed in the regulations and is currently £300.
- Report not produced within seven days: £200
- Gov.uk states a further penalty can be issued for failure to provide a Trading Standards Officer with a copy of the report within seven days when requested, and that this penalty is fixed at £200.
Who enforces, and how they find you
- Local Weights and Measures Authority. Gov.uk directs complaints about the availability of an air conditioning inspection report to the building occupier or an authorised officer of the Local Weights and Measures Authority, usually a Trading Standards Officer, and states Trading Standards have the power to act on your complaint.
- Complaints and investigations. The guide states that Trading Standards Officers may act on complaints or undertake investigations, and may request that a copy of the report is provided to them.
- Seven days to respond. If requested, gov.uk states the building owner or manager must provide the information within seven days of the request being made, or be liable to a penalty charge notice for failing to do so.
- A six month look-back. Gov.uk states a copy of a report can be requested by a Trading Standards Officer at any time up to six months after the last day for compliance with the obligation to make it available.
If you think a penalty notice is wrong
- Request a review. Gov.uk states that if a penalty charge notice is issued but the recipient believes it should not have been, they can request a review.
- Then the county court. If not satisfied with the outcome of the review, gov.uk states they may appeal to the county court within 28 days after being given notice of the review outcome.
- Fix the underlying gap either way. An appeal about a notice does not create a report. The duty is still to have the inspection carried out and the report lodged.
Who is not liable
Gov.uk states that occupiers of a building where a central air conditioning system is under the control of the building owner or manager would not be liable for a penalty charge for any breach of the duties. That is worth knowing in a multi-let building, because the duty tracks control of the system's technical functioning rather than occupation. Who exactly holds it is set out in the report and register guide.
The cheapest way out of a £300 and a £200 penalty is a lodged report you can email in an afternoon. Get quotes from accredited assessors covering your postcode.