Knowing what documents to receive from your gas engineer whenever gas works are being undertaken at your property can benefit you, especially as a landlord. Here's everything you need to know about gas safety records.
A gas safety record or gas safety certificate consists of the documents that your gas engineer may issue you after installing, repairing, or modifying gas appliances in your property. The document will contain details on the type of work and further detail what appliances were serviced or checked. For landlords, procuring and owning a gas safety certificate is a must as long as gas appliances are installed in the building.
A gas safety certificate record is part of the various building documents that a landlord needs in order to acquire the right to rent out apartments to tenants. It's more like an obligation for landlords and property owners to promote building maintenance and safety compliance. As a rental property owner, you have to ensure the safety of your tenants by providing a landlord gas safety record that shows that all the gas components and installation in your building have been checked and deemed safe to use.
In 2009, when the Gas Safe Register replaced the Council of Registered Gas Installers (CORGI) as the official gas registration body in the UK, it became a legal requirement for all gas engineers to be on the gas safety register. However, it is not a legal requirement for gas engineers to provide a gas certificate after every gas work on a building. But this doesn't apply to landlords or property owners with one, two, or more gas appliances installed in their buildings.
The responsibility of providing a building gas safety certificate means you have to seek a competent and registered gas engineer. The engineer should be able to provide a gas-safe certificate or ID to verify their authenticity. A gas safety register ID will display the following information:
When a certified gas engineer completes any kind of check, repair, service, or installation of gas appliances, you may request a gas safety certificate that overviews the details of the inspection, including suggestions for modification and when they'll need service again. Even as a tenant you have the same rights to receive documentation from your gas engineer and you should request it, as it is beneficial if your engineer provides you with some kind of record or proof, even if it may not be as comprehensive as a landlord's gas safety certificate.
1. The contents of a gas safety certificate
2. Who needs a gas safety certificate
3. How to acquire a gas safety certificate
4. Why gas safety certificates are important
5. The cost of a gas safety certificate
6. How long a gas safety certificate lasts
7. How long a gas safety inspection takes
8. The risks of inadequate gas safety checks
Whether you're a property manager or a private landlord, having an accurate gas safety record alongside other building documents is a must as long as gas appliances are installed in the house. Make sure that Gas Safe Registered engineers issue you this document themselves. Here's what a typical gas safety record looks like to avoid being misled or cheated. The gas safety record should contain:
It is important, however, to keep in mind that a landlord gas safety record does not have a standard or universal design; hence do not be concerned if the document you receive differs slightly from the one from another gas safety registered firm. It is merely important to ensure that all the relevant information listed above is documented in the record.
Generally speaking, certificates are to be issued whenever maintenance works relating to electricity, gas, construction, inspection, etc., are conducted in a building or property. The certificates given to the owners or occupants of the building help verify that the gas appliances are being checked annually in compliance with safety measures.
Gas safety is imperative because failure to observe safety measures during gas appliance usage carefully could lead to fatal damage to property and loss of lives. According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), 12 people have died from domestic gas explosions in the UK in the past five years, and 178 have been left injured from gas mishaps. In the US, about 17 people die yearly from gas accidents at home.
The remote cause of these domestic gas accidents are poor property inspections to verify that a building is fully conditioned for safe living. You can use our landlord property inspection checklist to check other things that need to be inspected in your property. In the absence of thorough property inspection, the following elements can be overlooked and cause fatal damages:
As a tenant, it is helpful to request a gas safety record from a registered gas engineer to be certain of your house's gas safety compliance and the preventive measures that have been put into place. Landlords, on the other hand, are legally bound to provide a landlord gas safety certificate and need to prove such an inspection has been carried out.
As a landlord, you're legally required to own a gas certificate because you won't be able to gain the right to rent out your apartments without it. The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulation requires that all landlords service all gas applications annually and receive a certificate of proof. This ensures that they provide a safe and habitable residence for their tenants. A landlord should provide a copy of the landlord's safety record to their tenants within 28 days after the gas inspection.
Tenants are not legally required to own a gas safety certificate; however, they can still receive a form of record from a gas engineer whenever a gas work or inspection has taken place. Tenants are fully responsible for regularly checking the gas appliances in their apartments to ensure that they're working effectively and efficiently. Your landlord will be responsible for the pipeline that supplies your gas appliances with gas.
Remember: request a gas-safe certificate from your landlord before moving in in order to stay safe and record important documents.
Acquiring a gas safety record or gas safety certificate is uncomplicated and can be accomplished easily. All you have to do is have a competent and registered gas engineer from the Gas Safe Register conduct checks, inspections, and repairs or installations, if necessary, on your property. After the maintenance installation job is done, you're sure to receive a gas safety record from your engineer.
If your gas engineer didn't prepare one for you, it might be because he isn't mandated to give you one or because you are not a private landlord. Nonetheless, you can ask him to prepare one for you if you need it, even if you're just a tenant. A qualified and registered gas engineer has no problem preparing a record of the gas work done at your property.
The gas engineer will have to check the following components before issuing you a gas safety certificate:
After completing these checks, a record will be given to you explaining what appliances have been checked, issues observed during the inspection, preventive measures that may need to be taken, and other relevant information.
The misfortunes that come from mistakes in gas appliances and pipe installations are not unknown. In fact, gas related issues can lead to the most fatal of domestic accidents that we know today. Even just one person's mistake in installation, usage, or handling can cost the lives of thousands. Following the effect of gas accidents like explosions and poisoning, the national law demands that all domestic buildings intended for renting must undergo gas safety checks (if gas is being supplied to the building).
These gas safety checks are one of the most important measures for a landlord to implement to protect their property and the life of their tenants. After conducting gas safety checks, the owner of the property or the landlord is issued a document that includes the report of the check. This document is what we know as a gas safety certificate, and it is what certifies the building as gas-safe – or not. Gas safety certificates are essential because they:
The cost of getting a gas safety certificate depends on several variables, including where you live, how many gas appliances you plan on having inspected, and the gas engineer you end up with. However, as a private landlord or a tenant, you can expect the price of getting a gas safety certificate to be around £25 - £150.
If you're looking for a comfortable price, we advise you to inquire about more than two gas safety registered businesses and select the cheapest one, comparing services offered and taking customer reviews into account. But, be careful – as in any line of business, some firms who advertise themselves with low prices usually have hidden costs attached to their services.
The most important factor, however, is to verify that the company you select is verified and complies with all legal rules and regulations while issuing gas safety certificates.
Gas safety certificates are not valid for as long as energy performance certificates or electrical safety certificates because gas works usually wear out sooner than both. Landlords will need to renew their gas safety certificate every year by having registered gas engineers re-assess the gas installations in the building.
You'll need to keep your landlord's gas safety certificate for at least one more year when it expires, just in case you need it for reference purposes. Since tenants aren't legally required to own a gas safety certificate, they don't have to renew those they might have obtained before. But, they can always ask for a gas safety record or document if they have any major gas work done in their apartment.
A gas safety inspection should take no more than an hour or forty-five minutes, depending on the scale of the gas inspection and information gathered during the inspection. If the gas engineers observe many defects or face complexities while inspecting your gas installation system, the inspection might persist a little longer. This is because gas safety is an activity that has been done very carefully.
In case you think you have to be around while the gas engineer performs any inspection, you don't have to. The decision to be at home or not during a gas safety inspection is up to you. A registered and qualified gas engineer can run the check without you around. Information about prior and immediate inspections can be sent electronically for inspectors to access.
We also recommend scheduling your gas safety inspection during the summer, as this is the best time to book a competent gas engineer quickly. During the winter, gas safety inspectors are usually occupied with demands from lots of customers who want to get their heating appliances checked.
If gas safety checks aren't regularly conducted on residential homes and buildings with gas installations, the following risks can arise:
You have questions or would like to schedule a personal demo? We are happy to help you!