Gas safety - FAQs - Landlords

Q. What if I cannot afford to do a safety check/service every year ?

A. You have a legal duty under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 to maintain all appliances and flues, which you have provided for your tenants to use and have them checked for safety at least once every 12 months by a CORGI registered Engineer.

Q. What if I ignore the regulations ?

A. You are putting lives at risk and breaking the law. The HSE gives gas safety a high priority and will take the appropriate action to ensure compliance with the regulations. In certain circumstances this could result in a substantial fine and/or a custodial sentence.

Q. Can I use a handyman or plumber for gas work ?

A. A CORGI registered Engineer with the required competence to do the particular work should always be used. By law (a) anyone (whether an employer or self-employed) running a business, e.g. a plumber, who carries out work on a gas appliance/fitting must be CORGI registered, and (b) any individual doing gas work must be competent to do it safely. DIY gas work could be dangerous and is likely to be illegal. Landlords must use only a registered Engineer for maintenance and safety checks on gas equipment provided for tenants use.

Q. How can I ensure an Engineer is CORGI registered ?

A. CORGI registered Engineers should have a current CORGI identity card on which is an expiry date and details of the appliances they are competent to work on. If in any doubt you can ring CORGI or check on their web site to see if an Engineer is registered.

Q. What should I do if the Engineer is not CORGI registered and/or has falsely claimed they are CORGI registered ?

A. It is against the law for a non-registered Engineer to do any work on gas appliances and/or flues. Phone your local HSE area office or CORGI.

Q. I have LPG heaters in my properties - do I need them checked ?

A. Yes, Landlord duties for LPG appliances are the same as for natural gas. The landlord must maintain all LPG appliances which they provide for tenants and have a safety check carried out at least once every 12 months by a CORGI registered Engineer.

Q. How far do I need to go if the tenant prevents or is not at home for the safety check ?

A. A landlord has to show that they took all reasonable steps to comply with the law. The courts haven't made any decisions about what this means and the efforts you need to make will depend on individual circumstances.

However, a court is likely to view your actions as reasonable if you adopt the following procedure. If your gas Engineer doesn't get in on the first visit, you should give your tenant the opportunity to agree a suitable date and you should contact them in writing to explain why you need access. Make a minimum of three attempts to carry out the safety check and ensure you keep records of letters sent and/or telephone calls/conversations.

It is a good idea to include arrangements for access in the tenancy agreement.

Q. What do I have to do if I change a room containing a gas appliance into a bedroom for the first time ?

A. Since 31 October 1998, any room converted to use as sleeping accommodation should not contain the following types of gas appliances:

1. A gas fire, gas space heater or a gas water heater (including a gas boiler) over 14 kilowatts gross input unless it is room sealed.
2. A gas fire, gas space heater, or a gas water heater (including a gas boiler) of 14 kilowatts gross input or less or any instantaneous water heater unless it is room sealed or has an atmosphere-sensing device.

If you are unsure, you should ask a CORGI registered Engineer to check for you.

Q. What responsibility do I have if my tenant is ill and has to sleep downstairs in a room with a gas appliance ?

A. You should advise your tenant at the start of the tenancy of any rooms that are unsuitable to be slept in due to an inappropriate appliance, for example a gas fire. However, if you find out that your tenant is sleeping in a room with a gas appliance that does not comply (as above), you should arrange for the appliance to be changed as soon as possible. Sometimes the change of use will be short term, for example when someone is recovering from an injury or illness, and is expected to start using his or her proper bedroom again in a few days/weeks.

The current law is not entirely clear and interpretation would finally be for a court to decide in particular circumstances. However, a reasonable approach might be to allow the continued (short-term) use of the appliances concerned provided that they have been maintained within the last 12 months, have an up to date landlord's gas safety certificate, a carbon monoxide detector (choose one which complies with BS 7860 or BS EN 50291) is fitted in the room and advice is sought from a CORGI Engineer as to the need for additional safety checks. Another alternative is to provide alternative heating such as an electric fire.

You should keep the situation under review and if the tenant's health does not improve as expected, then the appliances must be changed to ones that comply.

You should also warn the occupier to always turn off gas appliances at night and emphasise the need for ventilation in rooms where gas appliances are situated.

Q. What checks should I do between tenancies ?

A. You should visually check the property to see if the departing tenant has either removed appliances unsafely, or alternatively left behind their own appliance, which should either be removed or checked for safety by a CORGI registered Engineer. Before you re-let the property you need to ensure that all appliances are safe and have an up to date landlord's gas safety certificate (a copy of which needs to be given to the new tenant); it is also good practice to have the pipework inspected and tested for soundness.

If the property is likely to remain empty for a long period and/or there may be vandalism, you should think about asking for the gas to be isolated until a new tenant moves in. If, however, a new tenant is moving in quickly, and all the appliances and flues were checked recently, you should just arrange for a visual check to make sure nothing has changed.

Q. Can I keep Landlord's Gas Safety Certificates electronically ?

A. The introduction of legislation relating to electronic signatures and records permits both the record and signature to be in electronic format. Many gas installation businesses and landlords are adopting electronic systems across the range of their activities and these offer advantages, particularly in the areas of work planning and monitoring. However there have been concerns that the use of electronic landlord gas safety records (LGSR) may lead to an increased potential for forgery/alteration and hence a reduction in the intended safety assurance for tenants.

This guidance confirms a goal-setting approach, developed following discussions with industry and government, which will allow industry to develop electronic solutions compatible with the necessary security objectives.

Guidance

Gas Engineers may provide a landlord with a LGSR in electronic format with an electronic signature. The landlord then keeps this as the original record. This record should:

• Be capable of being reproduced in hard copy format when required (e.g. for the tenant/HSE/housing department
• Be secure from loss and interference
• Uniquely identify the gas operative who carried out the safety check. This could be, for example, an electronic representation of the operative’s signature, a scanned signature, a payroll number unique to the operative, the name of the operative etc; the employer needs to have secure systems that link the individual operative to the unique identifier.

These objectives should be achieved by a combination of management systems and appropriate technology in accordance with relevant British/European Standards.

The gas Engineer may also, with the landlord’s agreement, send or give a copy of the record directly to the tenant to provide additional assurance of its source. The record already includes the Engineer’s CORGI registration number and the addition of CORGI’s enquiry line telephone number would encourage the tenant to check its validity.

In order to safeguard the Engineer in case the landlord subsequently alters the record, he/she should keep his or her own secure copy to allow subsequent verification.

Some relevant legislation and standards (not exhaustive)

The Electronic Signatures Regulations 2002

Data Protection Act 1998

BS ISO/IEC 17799:2000 (BS 7799-1:2000) Information technology – Code of practice for information security management

BS 7799-2 2002 - Information security management. Specification with guidance for use

BS ISO 15489-1:2001 - Information and documentation records management. General

BIP 0025-1:2002 - Effective Records Management guide to BSISO 15489-1

Q. Do I have any responsibilities where the gas safety regulations do not apply ?

A. If you are an employer or self-employed person, you may still have duties (including for gas safety) under the general provisions of the Health and Safety at Work Act and related regulations. The courts haven't made any decisions about actions required and the efforts you need to make will depend on individual circumstances. However, the following action is recommended:

1. Where tenants own gas appliances, send a reminder that these should be serviced and checked for safety each year, and where possible, offer to include these (at reasonable cost) within the arrangements put in place by the landlord:
2. For rented property outside the scope of the Regulations (e.g. leases greater than 7 years) extend a similar approach to 1 above in the case of appliances provided by the landlord;
3. At the start of the tenancy you should advise the tenant of any flues or chimneys that are unsuitable for the installation of a gas appliance. You may also wish to consider regulating the installation of any appliance by a tenant through the conditions of a tenancy agreement. It is also recommended to include all flues and chimneys connected to gas appliances within the landlord's safety check, even where they do not serve appliances provided by the landlord.