Landlords Gas Safety Check Essex and London
Essex and London Landlords! Keep your tenants safe advise Bates Heating & Plumbing Ltd
The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 set out the duties of landlords in order to make sure that gas appliances, fittings and flues provided for tenants' use are safe.
Landlords are responsible for the safety of tenants not only because of their legal duty, but also because of the dangerous risks associated with carbon monoxide.
According to CORGI, landlords who have breached gas safety laws and in doing so have put lives at risk have recently faced stringent sentencing in the courts. It is hoped that this will eventually put an end to illegal gas work and will minimise the fatal consequences associated with it.
Ivor Bates of Bates Plumbing and Heating Limited says: 'Landlords have a number of guidelines to adhere to under the Regulations including the safe maintenance of gas fittings and flues, having annual safety checks carried out by a CORGI Registered Installer and only using CORGI engineers to conduct installations and repairs on gas appliances at the property.'
Landlords must also retain a record of each safety check for two years and issue tenants with a copy of the report within 28 days of the check being carried out. All properties where the lease is less than seven years are included, including holiday lets.
Landlords however are not responsible for any gas appliance owned by a tenant and the flue or chimney attached to it, neither are they responsible for any appliance used in a non-residential area of the property.
Landlords have important responsibilities and these are set down in order to prevent accidents and deaths. Ivor Bates says, 'By abiding by the Gas Safety Regulations landlords are adhering to their legal duties; by making sure that their property is a safe place for tenants to live and by doing extra things like installing a carbon monoxide alarm for example, they are taking care of their moral duties. Gas safety saves lives so make sure you do everything you can to make your property safe.'
Ivor Bates is the director of Bates Heating and Plumbing Limited, a plumbing and heating company established in 2001 and covering all areas of London, Docklands and Essex. Bates Heating is CORGI registered and regularly carry out landlords gas safety checks in Essex and London. For more information click here.