Domestic gas appliances are perhaps the most volatile pieces of equipment that you’ll find in a domestic setting. Lots of things can go wrong, and when they do the consequences are often very severe. As a landlord, it will be your responsibility to ensure that the gas appliances in your property are in safe working order. This insures the safety of your tenants, and prevents damage to your property from malfunctioning equipment.
Your primary responsibility as a Seaford landlord will be an annual inspection of the gas appliances in your property. This has to be carried out by a heating engineer who is registered on the national Gas Safe Register. The engineer will inspect the boiler, the gas oven (if applicable) and any other gas appliances that may be in the property. They will carefully examine every element of the home’s gas system, ensuring that there are no problems that would inhibit safe operation.
Once the inspection is complete and the Gas Safe engineer is satisfied that everything is in good working order and is likely to stay that way, they will issue you with a Gas Safety Certificate. This is your proof that the inspection has been carried out to satisfactory completion and all of the gas appliances in the property have been fully checked and passed. The certificate will itemise each appliance. You must show this certificate upon request to any tenants or prospective tenants.
After one year, you will have to get the certificate reissued. This will involve another inspection. It’s incredibly important that your gas safety certificate is kept up to date, as it’s an important legal responsibility. You should take a note of exactly when your certificate needs to be reissued, or if we are managing your property we will organise annual inspections for you.
If your Seaford tenant reports some kind of problem with your gas appliance, then you should take the problem very seriously. This is the case whether the appliance is still working or not. Even small problems or slightly unusual operation can be indicative of much larger issues in future. Generally speaking, better to fix small problems before they become large ones, and it’s usually at a lower cost too. While a Gas Safety certificate is a reassuring indication, it doesn’t preclude any problems from cropping up over the year.
If you do require any work on the gas appliances in your property, then you should make sure that any engineers you employ are also gas safe registered. This is also a legal responsibility.
Gas safety is a subject that often stresses out landlords in Seaford, but there is nothing to worry about as long as you ensure that you have a Gas Safety certificate issued annually and make sure that any work carried out is done correctly by Gas Safe registered engineers. If you have any further concerns, you should have a look at the Health and Safety Executive website. They have compiled a helpful guide for landlords, which you can find here: http://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/domestic/faqlandlord.htm
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What are my gas safety responsibilities as a Seaford Landlord?
Landlords have specific legal responsibilities to their tenants when it comes to gas safety
Understanding the law for rental accommodation
As a landlord, you are responsible for the safety of your tenants. Landlords’ duties apply to a wide range of accommodation, occupied under a lease or licence, which includes, but not exclusively:
residential premises provided for rent by local authorities, housing associations, private sector landlords, housing co-operatives, hostels rooms let in bed-sit accommodation, private households, bed and breakfast accommodation and hotels
rented holiday accommodation such as chalets, cottages, flats, caravans and narrow boats on inland waterways.
The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 deal with landlords’ duties to make sure gas appliances, fittings and flues provided for tenants are safe.
Landlord’s responsibilities
If you let a property equipped with gas appliances you have three main responsibilities:
Maintenance: pipework, appliances and flues must be maintained in a safe condition. Gas appliances should be serviced in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. If these are not available it is recommended that they are serviced annually unless advised otherwise by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
Gas safety checks: a 12 monthly gas safety check must be carried out on every gas appliance/flue. A gas safety check will make sure gas fittings and appliances are safe to use.
Record: a record of the annual gas safety check must be provided to your tenant within 28 days of the check being completed or to new tenants before they move in. Landlords must keep copies of the gas safety record for two years.
What should every Seaford Landlord take in mind as a primary responsibility?
Your primary responsibility as a Seaford
landlord will be an annual inspection of the gas appliances in your property.
This has to be carried out by a heating engineer who is registered on the
national Gas Safe Register. The engineer will inspect the boiler, the gas
oven (if applicable) and any other gas appliances that may be in the
property. They will carefully examine every element of the home’s gas system,
ensuring that there are no problems that would inhibit safe operation.
What is a Gas Safety Certificate?
A gas safety record is a record, also
referred to as a certificate, that is required by law to be held for all
rental accommodation in the UK where there are gas appliances present. The
requirement is enshrined in the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations
1998. The law requires all gas appliances in a rented property to be checked
annually, with a gas safety record being completed and a copy provided to
tenants
What is the use of a Gas Safety Certificate?