As a landlord, you have a legal obligation to make sure all gas appliances in your rental property are safe and don’t pose any risk to your tenants.
If any gas appliance or system isn’t properly installed and maintained, there’s a danger of gas leaks, fire, explosion or carbon monoxide poisoning, and all of those could potentially be deadly.
What does the law say?
The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 state that landlords must keep gas appliances, pipework and flues in a safe condition. So you must have a gas safety check carried out each year and secure a gas safety certificate confirming the required standards have been met.
Like a car MOT, there’s some flexibility around having the gas check carried out. It can be done up to two months before the current certificate expires and you won’t ‘lose’ any of the 12-month validity period. For example, if your certificate expires on 11th August 2022, you could book your check for as early as 12th June and the expiry date for that certificate would be 11th August 2023.
Who can make the checks?
The gas engineer you use must be on the Gas Safe Register, otherwise it’s illegal for them to carry out work on any domestic gas appliance.
All registered engineers carry a Gas Safe ID card, so you can see the type of work they’re qualified to do and whether their qualifications are up to date. However, some use a fake ID so do carry out an independent check via https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/
What does a gas safety check involve?
The Gas Safe engineer will inspect all the gas appliances and systems – so that’s things like the cooker, hob, boiler and radiators. This annual gas safety check is different to a service, so it doesn’t include repairs.
Some of the key things the check involves:
- A visual inspection of gas appliances, the gas heating system and the boiler flue system
- A tightness test at the gas meter to make sure there aren’t any leaks
- Checking the ventilation and air supply
- Checking the gas rate and burner pressure
- Ensuring safety devices are working
- Checking the pressure vessel inside the boiler
If the engineer finds that repairs are needed, they should be carried out as soon as possible. If there’s any immediate danger to your tenants, the engineer will ask your permission to disconnect the gas supply.
What documentation should I receive?
The engineer will provide you with a Gas Safety Certificate. This details every appliance, along with information on any defects and what actions are required.
What do I need to do with the gas safety certificate?
The original certificate must be kept for at least two years – and we’d suggest you hold on to all certificates related to a tenancy until it ends. A copy of the current certificate must be given to new tenants before they move in, and to existing tenants within 28 days of the check.
If we manage your rental, we’ll arrange for the annual gas check and any necessary repairs to be carried out. But if you have any questions or you currently self-manage and you’d like to discuss our management services, just get in touch with your local Your Move branch.
Two changes are expected to come into force this autumn. We will update our landlords once this has been confirmed
The rules around smoke and CO alarms for rented homes in England:
- Currently, landlords are only responsible for making sure alarms are working properly at the start of a tenancy – then it’s the tenants’ responsibility to keep them in working order. Under the new rules, landlords will be responsible for repairing or replacing alarms during the tenancy if a fault is reported.
- Under current rules, there must be a CO alarm in any room where solid fuel is burnt. The change means CO alarms will also be required in rooms with a fixed combustion appliance (e.g. a gas boiler), but only at the point a new appliance is installed.
Source:
https://landlordlaw.co.uk/update-to-smoke-co-alarms-2022-april/
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/all-social-homes-required-to-have-smoke-alarms-fitted
The Your Move Content Marketing Team
