Gas safety checks are carried out under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. These regulations apply to landlords, letting agents and other persons who are responsible for ensuring that gas appliances and pipework provided for tenants are safe.
The Health and Safety Executive has a search facility on its website where you can check whether a gas engineer is registered. A registered gas engineer will have an ID card.
If the tenant refuses access to the landlord or agent to carry out a gas safety check on the appliance, he or she is committing an offence. The landlord could then apply to the court for an order giving him or her access to carry out the work. This process is called interdicting access in Scotland and an injunction in England & Wales
If you are renting your property through a letting agency, check that they have arrangements in place for carrying out gas safety checks on behalf of their landlords.
It is illegal for any work to be carried out on gas appliances, fittings and flues which require the knowledge and skill of a Gas Safe Registered engineer unless that person is registered with Gas Safe Register.
The law requires that all landlords must have all gas appliances, pipework, flues and chimneys checked for safety at least every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and issue tenants with a copy of the Landlord’s Gas Safety Record (CP12) within 28 days of each check being completed or, if the tenant moves out, before the next tenant moves in.
As well as being the law, this will ensure your appliances are working properly and safely.
If you don’t get your appliances checked, they could:
- Develop a fault which could cause a fire, explosion or carbon monoxide poisoning – which can be fatal
- Be dangerous to use
- Break down sooner than they should
- Cost more money to run than necessary
The check will ensure that all gas appliances and flues are safe to use. This is essential because each year many people are killed or seriously injured by carbon monoxide fumes given off by faulty gas equipment. Carbon monoxide is poisonous, odourless and tasteless, so you can’t see or smell it but it can kill quickly with no warning. Once exposed to carbon monoxide you may experience:
- headaches, nausea and dizziness;
- drowsiness;
- collapse;
- breathlessness;
- loss of consciousness; and/or
- coma or death
If you are looking for gas safety checks in Birmingham, visit us at Bee Heating.
