Are you aware of your gas safety responsibilities?

Landlords are being reminded this week that they are responsible for the safety of their tenants, as part of Gas Safety Week, which starts today.

The annual event, which takes place 19-25 September, aims to raise awareness of gas safety and reminds us to have our gas appliances safety checked annually by a qualified Gas Safe registered engineer.

More than 6,500 organisations across the UK will be working together alongside the Gas Safe Register to raise awareness of the dangers of poorly maintained gas appliances, and responsibility for safety of tenants is something that all landlords should be aware of, in accordance with the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, which outline the duties of landlords to ensure gas appliances, fittings and chimneys/flues provided for tenants are safe.

Your responsibilities:

If you let a property equipped with gas appliances, the Gas Safety Register highlight three main responsibilities:

Maintenance: Pipework, appliances and chimney/flues need to be maintained safely. Gas appliances should be serviced in accordance with the frequency given in the manufacturer’s instructions. If these are not available, you should ask a Gas Safe registered engineer to service them annually.

Gas safety checks: An annual gas safety check should be carried out on each gas appliance/flue. This will ensure gas appliances and fittings are safe to use. There is a legal requirement on you to have all gas appliances safety checked by a registered engineer annually and you also need to maintain gas pipework and flues in a safe condition. This is UK law.

Record: A record of the annual gas safety check should be provided to your existing tenants within 28 days of completion, or to new tenants upon the start of their tenancy. If the rental period is less than 28 days at a time you may display a copy of the record in a prominent position within the dwelling. You’ll need to keep copies of the record for at least two years.

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