Gas Safety Week 2023 – Fighting for a Gas Safe Nation

Posted on September 8th, 2023

Landlords Legal Responsibilities – Annual Gas Safety Checks

We are proud to be supporting Gas Safety Week 2023, taking place 11 – 17 September.

Gas Safety Week is an annual safety week to raise awareness of gas safety and the importance of taking care of your gas appliances. It is coordinated by Gas Safe Register, the official list of gas engineers who are legally allowed to work on gas.

Badly fitted and poorly serviced gas appliances can cause gas leaks, fires, explosions, and carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. CO is a highly poisonous gas that can kill quickly with no warning, as you cannot see it, taste it, or smell it.

Landlords are legally responsible for the safety of their tenants. Landlords must make sure maintenance and annual safety checks on gas appliances are carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer to ensure their tenants and wider communities stay safe.

If you’re a landlord, you are legally obliged to make sure:

• Gas pipework, appliances and flues provided for tenants are maintained in a safe condition.
• All gas appliances and flues provided for tenants’ use have an annual safety check. Your tenants can report you to the HSE if you don’t provide one, so it’s important to remember! You can set a free email and/or text reminder so you don’t forget, visit StayGasSafe.co.uk.
• A Gas Safety Record is provided to the tenant within 28 days of completing the check or to any new tenant before they move in.
• You keep a copy of the Gas Safety Record until two further checks have taken place.
• Maintenance and annual safety checks are carried out by a qualified Gas Safe registered engineer.
• All gas equipment (including any appliance left by a previous tenant) is safe or otherwise removed before re-letting.

Before any gas work is carried out always check the engineer is qualified to carry out the work that needs doing e.g., natural gas, domestic boiler. You can find this information on the Gas Safe Register website or by checking the back of the engineer’s Gas Safe ID card. Encourage your tenants to also check the card when the engineer arrives at the property, and to be aware of any warning signs that their gas appliance is working incorrectly, such as dark or sooty staining, excess condensation, pilot lights which frequently blow out and and error messages on the appliance’s control panel

 

For more information and to find or check an engineer visit GasSafeRegister.co.uk.