The law is very clear regarding the requirements from UK landlords when it talks about gas safety in a rented property. The law requires annual gas safety inspection to be undertaken by an approved CORGI registered engineer. According to the law, failure to comply with this requirement carries a fine of up to 5,000 and up to six months' imprisonment.
By law the landlord is required to make sure the following requirements are adhered to:
* Gas appliances with open flue must not be located in a room where occupants sleep (or in the bathroom).
* Repair, service or installation work related to gas appliances should be carried out by a Corgi registered operative.
* Fixed or mobile gas appliances within the premises should be maintained in good working order and inspected annually by a Corgi approved engineer.
* Any work done to any gas appliance in the property is then approved through a series of safety tests by a CORGI certified engineer.
* The tenants living in the property must have unrestricted access to all documentation relating to the gas appliances (e.g. manuals for the appliances, safety documents).
*A clear set of records is kept detailing the dates of safety inspections and any defects identified and respective work undertaken. The tenants must have access to a copy of these records within 28 days of the safety inspection or prior to new occupants moving into the property.
Landlords should consider installing protection against carbon monoxide poisoning in the rented property. Carbon monoxide poisoning causes between 20 to 30 deaths every year in the UK. Carbon monoxide is a result of an incomplete burning reaction, which creates a combination of carbon with a single oxygen molecule. The gas has no smell, colour or taste and is extremely poisonous, causing asphyxiation and sometimes death. Carbon monoxide can occur when the boiler installation is done poorly, when the flue is poorly designed or installed or is simply blocked.
Landlords have no choice but to ensure that all domestic boilers on the premise are checked and services annually. Large landlords, Local Authorities and Housing Associations find this statutory obligation to cause major concern due to the administrative complexity and logistics difficulty of the gas engineer gaining access to the boiler.
Evidence shows that it is difficult for the Corgi engineer to gain access to the property in cases of large blocks of flats. During business hours, most flat are empty while their occupants are at work. It proved to be difficult to get people to stay at home to wait for the plumber to come and conduct the safety check. Tenants are reluctant to lose a day's pay in order to stay at home for the landlord to comply with the Regulation.
In certain cases, landlords have to arrange for an entry warrant if the tenant fails to cooperate and allow access for the gas engineer. In addition to the administrative complexity, this adds substantial costs to the cost of the gas safety check (up to 500 for police attendance and potential repair). - 15478
By law the landlord is required to make sure the following requirements are adhered to:
* Gas appliances with open flue must not be located in a room where occupants sleep (or in the bathroom).
* Repair, service or installation work related to gas appliances should be carried out by a Corgi registered operative.
* Fixed or mobile gas appliances within the premises should be maintained in good working order and inspected annually by a Corgi approved engineer.
* Any work done to any gas appliance in the property is then approved through a series of safety tests by a CORGI certified engineer.
* The tenants living in the property must have unrestricted access to all documentation relating to the gas appliances (e.g. manuals for the appliances, safety documents).
*A clear set of records is kept detailing the dates of safety inspections and any defects identified and respective work undertaken. The tenants must have access to a copy of these records within 28 days of the safety inspection or prior to new occupants moving into the property.
Landlords should consider installing protection against carbon monoxide poisoning in the rented property. Carbon monoxide poisoning causes between 20 to 30 deaths every year in the UK. Carbon monoxide is a result of an incomplete burning reaction, which creates a combination of carbon with a single oxygen molecule. The gas has no smell, colour or taste and is extremely poisonous, causing asphyxiation and sometimes death. Carbon monoxide can occur when the boiler installation is done poorly, when the flue is poorly designed or installed or is simply blocked.
Landlords have no choice but to ensure that all domestic boilers on the premise are checked and services annually. Large landlords, Local Authorities and Housing Associations find this statutory obligation to cause major concern due to the administrative complexity and logistics difficulty of the gas engineer gaining access to the boiler.
Evidence shows that it is difficult for the Corgi engineer to gain access to the property in cases of large blocks of flats. During business hours, most flat are empty while their occupants are at work. It proved to be difficult to get people to stay at home to wait for the plumber to come and conduct the safety check. Tenants are reluctant to lose a day's pay in order to stay at home for the landlord to comply with the Regulation.
In certain cases, landlords have to arrange for an entry warrant if the tenant fails to cooperate and allow access for the gas engineer. In addition to the administrative complexity, this adds substantial costs to the cost of the gas safety check (up to 500 for police attendance and potential repair). - 15478
About the Author:
Tal Potishman, editor of Heating Central, writes articles about efficient heating, boilers, West Hampstead plumbers, underfloor heating and solar thermal. He specializes in helping save money by advising on efficient heating.
