Who Is Responsible For Gas Safety Check
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- 22-11-2021
If you are a landlord or a tenant, you may be asking: who is responsible for gas safety check? We look at the responsibilities of landlords for ensuring the safety of rental properties.
If you're a landlord and you're wondering who is responsible for a gas safety check, this article is for you. We will outline what should be done, how often it should be done and where your legal requirement stops.
The health and safety of your tenants should be the number one priority, and there are small yet significant steps you can take to do this.
Who Is Responsible For Gas Safety Check?
As a tenant, when you're in a property, you find yourself questioning whose responsibility it is to perform certain tasks. Cleaning and maintaining the property is your job, to a degree, alongside reporting any major damage immediately. However, when it comes to performing gas, electrical and other safety checks, who is responsible for such a task?
The short answer is the landlord is responsible for the safety of the tenants with every part of the house. This extends to gas safety, and tenants are liable for a fine if they are not housing a safe environment. This includes the fixing and repairing of pipework and annual gas safety checks.
Landlords cannot be performing these checks and inspections themselves, as they are not qualified to do so. A Gas Safe registered engineer will be needed, and an ID card can prove this on the day of arrival. This is recommended as most appliances require a Gas Safe registered engineer to perform any inspections and repair, and going against this can make any warranty on that appliance void.
These checks must be carried out annually, as appliances in your home can become less efficient and potentially begin leaking dangerous gases into the air of your home. A gas appliance can produce carbon monoxide, which can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning. Symptoms will not be dissimilar to the flu, to begin with, but can lead to seizures, loss of consciousness and even death.
Carbon monoxide cannot be smelt or tasted when released, so you could be breathing it in right now. Getting this check can be inexpensive and not take as much time as you believe but is incredibly essential. Getting a gas safety certificate in your property as a landlord is one of the most important things you should do before getting tenants in.
Who needs Gas Safety Checks?
Getting your gas appliances maintained and inspected annually doesn't just pertain to private households. The same is needed by:
- Boarding Schools
- Public Schools
- Colleges
- Hotels, B&Bs and Hostels
- Local authorities
- Housing associations
- Businesses & Company buildings
Any building that houses people, regardless of size or regularity, should receive a gas safety check. If the gas appliance in question isn't near the main socialising room, then this should still be done, and neglecting to do so can result in bodily harm to guests and a fine.
Even if you find yourself owning an empty property, you must still arrange an annual gas safety check. This is because the property may be neighbouring other houses and can pose a risk to them, and any potential tenants who will move in need the reassurance of a recent inspection.
Any issues reported after the check, regardless of whether tenants are inside the property or not, it is your legal requirement to repair and replace the problem as soon as possible. If a certain appliance proves unsafe to tenants, you must report this to them and ensure it is not used until the issue has been rectified. Failure to get a gas safe engineer to fix the issue can lead to a fine.
What needs to be maintained?
A gas safety check should involve all gas appliances and flues within the property. Flues are pipes and ducts involved in gas supply and transport and mustn't be ignored when looking for any damages or breakages. As stated, regardless of the proximity to the areas where people sleep, eat and relax, the appliances must be checked. If the central heating system is installed in another neighbouring property but is used to heat any tenant accommodation, this should also be inspected.
During the inspection, the physical condition of the appliances and pipework will be done, alongside looking for any flue deterioration. This can lead to gas inefficiency, higher bills, and a leak of gas into the room. A gas leak can make you feel nauseous, dizzy and lightheaded, but can also manifest physically in pale skin or blisters. If you continue to be exposed to this gas, then you can become unconscious or die. Since natural gas doesn't produce an odour, it can be hard to detect without a gas safe engineer on the property. No hissing sound of gas erupting from a pipe may be audible either.
After the initial inspection, the gas safe engineer will perform some performance tests to ensure that your central heating system and other gas appliances are working correctly and efficiently. Just because a system is safe and not producing any carbon monoxide doesn't mean it's doing your bills any wonders.
What are your landlord responsibilities for gas safety?
Regardless of the type of landlord you are, be it short-term, long-term, in individual rooms, holiday homes or entire residential properties, you are someone who owns rental properties. As you're aware, as a landlord, you are responsible for the duty of care of any tenants your property holds. This is part of the agreement you sign into, and to fulfil your part of this, you should keep the house in good condition.
You should be organising with the gas company to have an engineer come to the property and ensure that these checks are done annually and whenever a problem arises. It is not the responsibility of the gas company.
Your three primary legal obligations are:
As you hopefully understand, this should be done annually at your property. A gas safety check involves checking all gas appliances and flues at the property in the name of safety regulations and efficiency.
A Gas Safe registered engineer is required to perform these checks, and you should be checking with the company and individual engineer you hire that this is the case. After the inspection and check have been completed, you will receive a Landlord Gas Safety Record to prove that the check has been conducted and any repairs made.
After the check has been done and you've received the record, then the property is safe. Tenants should be made aware of how to maintain the appliances and pipework best, and the following check should be scheduled 10-12 months after. Of course, if issues begin to arise and a new check needs completing, then the deadline and 12-month annual check shift to the date of this new inspection.
Once you've received the Landlord Gas Safety Record, you are required to provide a copy to your tenants. This proves that the check has been completed and should be copied to them no more than 28 days after the gas safety check.
If you're in the process of getting new tenants in your property, you should provide them with the last gas safety record you acquired, which will outline when the next check is due.
If you're working in short-term letting as a landlord, then you can still display this record. A landlord should make the tenants aware of the check for tenancies and rental periods of less than the 28-day requirement.
Another legal requirement that you, as a landlord, must be fulfilling is the regular maintenance of gas appliances and pipework. Any flues, chimneys and appliances that could harm or damage the property and tenants should be regularly maintained.
When a gas safety check is being performed, you can ask the engineer how often individual parts in your property need to be inspected and maintained. Certain services will require more urgent action and more regularly than an entire service, so be sure to check the gas appliance manufacturer guidelines.
For example, gas and installation pipework won't be covered by the annual check yet should still be inspected. Any Gas Safe Engineer is qualified and able to inspect for the tightness of the gas system and can visually inspect any pipework that won't be covered, so you should ask or inquire ahead of time.
If you're regularly performing maintenance on the pipework, you will have peace of mind that these checks are being done, the tenants will trust you more, and you're less liable for a fine or a health hazard happening. You have no legal requirement to document the repairs and maintenance of any pipework that is excluded from the annual gas safety check. Still, you will benefit from having proof of service if questioned.
The price of a gas safety check can differ depending on what company and service you use, so it's wise to get multiple quotes before beginning any work. If you need assistance and want something further clarifying, you can get in touch with us today via phone or email, and our trained and professional team of engineers can give you advice. Gas Safety requirements are there for a reason, and they must be obeyed.
Do you require a gas safety check? We offer services to both domestic and commercial customers Uppingham, Oakham, Stamford and Rutland. Our charges are highly competitive and realistic. If you are experiencing problems with your central heating - Please contact us.