In this topic, we will discuss gas safety for Landlord and as a landlord what you need to do to make sure that your property is safe for your tenant to live in without fear of anything going wrong.
Landlords need to carry out strict checks annually to manage and maintain gas appliances and monitor supplies. Landlords should also make sure it is perfectly installed and safe, making sure that the property they are renting out is very safe from gas problems before the tenant and their entire family moves in the apartment.
GAS SAFETY RULES FOR THE LANDLORDS AS FOLLOWS:
- SERVICING:
Every landlord should ensure that any products that use and supply gas in their property are serviced annually by professional & registered gas safety engineers, except they were installed no later than a year before the tenant moved in. Every gas product that is less than 12 months old should have it serviced within a year of the installation date for safety measures.
- FIXING IN DETECTORS:
Landlords should ensure that every room where gas appliances are should have functioning carbon monoxide detectors. Making sure that the detectors work perfectly well before the tenant moves in. Every tenant also has an obligation to check and test the detector making sure it is working and also change the batteries if needed for their safety, some landlords are not always around to know when things go wrong and then get the necessary things done for them.
- REPORT OF GAS SAFETY CHECKS:
Landlords must order in for gas safety checks to be carried out in their rental properties. The checks include gas appliances, LSG and gas supplies. Nevertheless, it is not the duty of the landlord to safety check appliances owned by the tenant if no appliances owned by the landlord is been used by the tenant, flues or boilers located outside the house are also part of the safety checks in the heating system.
Prices of gas safety checks depend on engineers but mostly £100 and £200 for the safety inspections and cost of any corrections made.
Landlords should give their tenants a copy of the original or a valid gas safety report within 28 days of gas maintenance being done, so the tenant can also be aware when it will be due for updating.
- GAS CERTIFICATES:
A gas certificate is an official document given by a registered professional heating engineer, also called a Gas Safe. They are registered to check gas safety officially in properties.
And the gas safety certificates will show:
- The Gas Safe registration and name of the engineer who is doing the test and their contact details.
- Date the check was carried out.
- The house where the check was conducted
- Any list of faults and corrections that were made.
- The outcome of the checks for the gas supply and each of the products at home.
It is a punishable offence to allow someone who is not a registered engineer to the Gas Safe check, you could be imprisoned or fined up to £20,000 for every offence at a magistrate court.
To avoid paying fines upon fines and possibly going to the Crown Court, it is best to ensure that you contact a registered gas safety engineer to do the gas checks on your property.
SHOULD TENANT ALLOW GAS SAFETY ENGINEER TO CARRY OUT A SAFETY CHECKS?
Tenants should always allow gas safety engineers to carry out safety checks. However, landlords and gas engineers can only access a tenant’s home with the tenant’s permission. Forced entry is never allowed. If a tenant refuses the gas safety check, the Health & Safety Executive suggests the following measures are taken to prove that the landlord has made necessary moves for the safety check to go ahead.
- Written note containing the engineer’s contact details and a notice saying that they are trying to finish the gas safety check stuck at the entrance door.
- As a landlord you could also write to the tenant explaining that it is legally required for this gas safety check to be carried out for their own safety and ask the tenant to get in touch with a gas safety engineer and arrange a suitable time for this check to be done.
- You may be dealing with a difficult tenant who still does not want to allow access into the property, it is good to have records of these contacts you have made with the tenant regarding the gas safety checks, the information may be needed by the Court or HSE.
- It is also very important to write a point in the rental agreement explaining the reasons why entry into the apartment should be accepted by the tenant to carry out the necessary gas safety checks for the tenant’s safety.
Always call on IQueue Property Solutions Ltd for your professional gas certificates and other property maintenance you might need.
WHAT OUR PROPERTY MAINTENANCE CAN OFFER YOU?
Maintaining your property may feel like a great task to undertake. At IQueue Property Solutions Ltd, we can implement a range of maintenance jobs for landlords of residential and commercial properties and homeowners alike.
IQueue Property Solutions Ltd is proud of the exceptional level of care and attention we have on every single project we undertake whether it’s small or big.
We can undertake a variety of property maintenance and repair services on both residential and commercial properties, these includes;
- End of tenancy refreshment
- End of tenancy cleaning
- Carpentry & joinery
- Cleaning services
- Damp proofing & timber treatment
- Repairing and maintenance of central heating by Gas Safe Engineers. Landlord certificates can also be provided. Plumbing
- Kitchen & bathroom installation & repair
- Electrical reports, inspections & repairs
- Painting & decorating
- Plastering & rendering
- Property maintenance & repair
- Water damage & insurance work
- Tiling
- Mastic/Sealant
To speak to a member of the team about your property maintenance requirements, please call us on 07432 096 829 between 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM, Monday – Friday or email us at iqueuepropertysolutions@gmail.com.