The Health and Safety Executive in the U.K. provide a useful guide to landlords' responsibilities towards providing safe gas services for tenants as defined by the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998.
Landlords are defined as those who own property which is entirely or partly rented to tenants, examples of such properties would include rented houses, holiday homes, bedsits or rooms in a shared house and in Guest Houses.
The risks from domestic gas appliances are explosions as a result of gas leaks or poisoning from Carbon Monoxide. In the U.K. there is very stringent legislation and very few fatalities each year resulting from Carbon Monoxide poisoning but the deaths that do occur are overwhelmingly tenants in rented properties.
Landlords Obligations for Gas Safety
The landlords' responsibilities relating to gas in the property are:
- to ensure gas appliances and pipe work within the building are safe;
- to have an annual check carried out by an engineer on the Gas Safe Register (a CP12 inspection);
- to have a check between tenants;
- to make available to tenants a copy of the annual inspection report, which is on form CP12.
What is CP12, the Gas Safety Certificate?
The Landlord's Gas Safety Certificate is not a pass or fail test. It will record what is found and make recommendations. If all is perfect ten the only recommendation will be to have appliances serviced and a routine inspection when it is due.
The certificate will include the following information:
- the date of the inspection and the property address
- full details of the inspector, including his or her registration number
- full details of all the gas appliances including their locations
- any defects identified and details of any corrective action undertaken
- whether a service has been carried out and on what date
How Much Will the Certificate Cost?
Currently many businesses are advertising fees of between £40 to £75. One can expect to pay more depending on the number of appliances. The best price is likely to be obtained if you use the same heating engineer who installed the boiler and have the boiler serviced at the same appointment.
Will the Boiler be Serviced at the Same Time as the Landlord Safety Check?
A landlord gas safety certificate does not require the same level of attention as a full service. There are benefits to having appliances serviced regularly and manufacturers usually recommend gas appliances are serviced annually.
Briefly the differences are:
- The Landlord Certificate is more paperwork and a visual inspection for safety;
- The Gas Appliance Service ensures it is working efficiently as well as safely.
There is, of course, overlap, both require a visual inspection of appliances for correct and safe installation, to ensure ventilation is adequate and to ensure the flue is working safely.
Tenants Can Expect a Safe Home
The duties of a landlord can not be taken lightly. There has been increasing regulation in the U.K. to ensure the homes of tenants are maintained to a high standard both in terms of safety and energy efficiency. There are severe penalties for landlord who fail to comply.
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