It’s Gas Safety Week 2018, and we are raising awareness among Landlords of what makes a valid Landlords Gas Safety Certificate and how to tell if a contractor is qualified to conduct the required checks.
When it comes to gas in rental properties, everyone can agree that tenant safety is paramount – that is why having a valid Landlords Gas Safety Certificate (GSC) is required by law.
However, a number of Landlords Gas Safety Certificates provided to us by private contractors over the last few months have been invalid due to vital information being missing, and in some cases, the correct checks not having been conducted.
If your GSC isn’t valid:
- Your tenants are at risk of serious injury
- You as a landlord are at risk of prosecution
- You as a landlord may be unable to serve notice to regain possession of your property
Essential gas safety information for landlords
Gas safety checks are a legal requirement and should be conducted annually on rented properties – and before the date on them expires.
It is the Landlord’s responsibility to ensure the contractor appointed to conduct the certificate is qualified, and that the certificate is valid. We advise taking a copy of the contractors’ Gas Safe ID card; on the back it will list all the appliances they are qualified to work on.
6 essential parts that need to be completed on a Landlords Gas Safety Certificate:
- The engineer’s name, company name, and Gas Safe Registration Number
- The landlord’s name and address (can also/instead be the name of your managing agent if applicable, but ideally it should have both!)
- All of the gas appliances in the property need to have been listed and checked, including any that are disconnected or capped (even if they were disconnected or capped on a previous visit)
- Either an operating pressure or a heat input figure for all appliances
- A tick to show the Gas Tightness has been tested
- The date the checks were conducted and the certificate produced
If your certificate is missing any one of these parts, your certificate is not valid, and the plumber will need to write a new one or re-conduct the checks.
What to say if something is missing
Some gas engineers say that hobs don’t have operating pressures or heat inputs, but that is incorrect. They’re slightly more difficult to test, but they do still need to be tested.
Although liability for making sure all appliances are checked and safe ultimately resides with the landlord, you would hope that a qualified engineer would be savvy enough to notice any gas appliances you haven’t directly asked them to check. Make sure you are firm on this point!
Ideally, all appliances that have a gas supply should be tested at the same time and listed on the same certificate. Having multiple certificates is acceptable provided they are conducted no more than a year apart for ease of organising for new checks to be carried out.
Is your plumber allowed to issue gas safety certificates?
In order to be able to carry out any work involving gas, a plumber is legally obliged to be registered with Gas Safe. You can ask to see their Gas Safe card before letting them conduct any work, and/or check them out on the Gas Safe Register.
You will also need to make sure that they are qualified to carry out work on the specific appliances you have in your property. Not all plumbers are qualified to do work on water heaters, for example, or on appliances that run on LPG instead of mains gas.
If you would like us to put you in touch with our recommended Gas Safe gas engineer, or if you would like any more advice about Landlord’s legal responsibilities when letting out a property, give the team at McCartan a call on 01792 430100, for send us an email by clicking here.
Sources: Gas Safe Register / Andy John Plumbing and Heating
Related: What does the Interest Rate Rise mean for Landlords? / Quick Pre-Let Checklist for Landlords
