Gas Safety: Landlord Vs Tenant responsibilities

We are proud to be supporting Gas Safety Week 2019, taking place 16th - 22nd September.

The annual Gas Safety week raises awareness of the importance of gas safety and taking care of gas appliances.

Badly fitted, or poorly serviced gas appliances can pose a serious health and safety threat. They can cause gas leaks, fires, explosions and carbon monoxide poisoning. Carbon monoxide can be extremely dangerous, as it's a highly poisonous gas, but you cannot see it, taste it or smell it.

Landlords are legally responsible for the safety of their tenants. As a landlord you must make sure maintenance and annual safety checks on gas appliances are carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

When it comes to gas safety, landlords have a legal responsibility towards their tenants. A landlord must ensure all maintenance and annual safety checks on gas appliances are carried out by a registered Gas Safe engineer.

As a landlord, your legal obligations are:

• 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!
• 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.

If you are a tenant you also have responsibilities when it comes to gas safety in the property

• Check your Landlord's Gas Safety Record. By law, your landlord must keep gas pipework, appliances and flues supplied for you to use in good condition. They must arrange a gas safety check of the appliances and flues every year and give you a record of the check. If your landlord refuses to provide you with one, you can report their details to the HSE: bit.ly/LGSRReport
• Check any gas appliances you own every year. Your landlord is not responsible for gas appliances that you own, so you should arrange for these to be safety checked once a year and serviced regularly by a Gas Safe registered engineer. All our Rightio engineers are Gas Safe and have a minimum of 5 years' proven experience. Book your service today.
• Check your engineer is Gas Safe registered. You can find or check an engineer at GasSafeRegister.co.uk or call 0800 408 5500, or ask to see their Gas Safe ID card when they arrive.
• Check your engineer is qualified for the type of gas work you need doing like natural gas or domestic boiler. You can find this information on the back of their Gas Safe ID card and the Gas Safe Register website.
• Check for warning signs that could indicate yours (or others) appliances are not working correctly. Signs may include lazy yellow /orange flames instead of crisp blue ones, black marks on or around the appliance, a pilot light that keeps going out, and too much condensation in the room.
• Know the six main symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning - headaches, dizziness, breathlessness, nausea, collapse and loss of consciousness.
• Install an audible carbon monoxide alarm and make sure your friends and relatives have one too. Check they are marked EN50291 and display the British Standards' Kitemark. Between 16-22ndSeptember 2019 only, Rightio is offering 50% discount on Carbon Monoxide detector installations.