What Is a Gas Safety Record?
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:
- Passport photograph of the engineer for reliable identification
- The date of issuance and expiry
- A unique license number
- Security hologram
- The line of business the engineer works for
- A list of the engineer’s qualifications
- The date of qualifications
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.
In this article, we’ll discuss the following:
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
What Are The Contents Of A Gas Safety Record?
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:
- A description of each appliance that was checked, serviced, repaired, or installed.
- The location of each of the appliances that were worked on.
- A profile information of the engineer who ran the checks, including his name, register number, and signature.
- The date the checks and services were observed.
- The address of the building where the gas appliances are installed.
- The name and address of the agent receiving the service. Reports on safety information, irregularities, suggestions, and corrections concerning the gas work.
- The result of the operational check of each gas appliance.
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.
Who Needs Gas Safety Certificates?
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:
- Old rusty gas lines or ones that are damaged that run from the street into your home.
- Defective gas-operated equipment.
- Improper use of gas furnaces, stoves, or other gas appliances.
- Gas appliances that have been poorly or incorrectly installed.
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.
For Landlords
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.
For Tenants
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 Certificate: How-To
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:
- Pressure levels: Every gas appliance will be checked to ensure that they’re burning at the correct operating pressure.
- Ventilation passages: The flue of your appliance will be examined to ensure it isn’t blocked so that gaseous waste can be safely and properly disposed of.
- Proper working condition: The glass appliance would be visually inspected to ensure it works perfectly and isn’t a threat to anyone.
- Pipeline Condition: All pipe works would be checked to ensure that they are completely sealed tight.
- Heating systems:Evaluate the condition of the heating systems.
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 Importance Of A Gas Safety Certificate?
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:
- Keep regular gas safety in check: The existence of gas certificates being a symbol of gas safety certification helps promote the practice of regular safety checks. Renting out residential property and apartments that don’t receive gas safety checks or have an outdated gas safety certificate is illegal, just as the same as not obtaining an electrical safety certificate is. Therefore, every landlord and property owner would want to avoid legal trouble by having regular gas safety checks.
- Help control the risk of gas fatalities: With gas safety certificates in play, many residential buildings where civilians usually reside are looking to get certified in every area, including electricity and energy efficiency. This means fewer live-claiming fatal gas accidents will happen in regions with more people. And so far, this has been the case, and most major gas fatalities happen either on sea or at rigs and factories.
- Impose a strict stand on gas awareness: Since gas safety certificates have become a legal requirement for landlords, it has been classified as a criminal offense if you fail to conduct gas safety inspections and receive gas safety certificates. Landlords can be charged with unlimited files or serve six months in prison for violating gas safety regulations. This strengthens law and order around gas safety checks and inspections.
- Serve as a safety certification: Gas safety certificates are part of the few documents that certify the safety of your building or property for human habitation. Gas accidents are known to be injurious and sometimes fatal, so a building with gas installations must be able to present an updated gas safety record to determine the safety of your building.
How Much Does A Gas Safety Certificate Cost?
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.
How Long Does A Gas Safety Certificate Last?
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.
How Much Time Does A Gas Safety Inspection Take?
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.
What Are The Risks Of Inadequate Gas Safety Checks?
If gas safety checks aren’t regularly conducted on residential homes and buildings with gas installations, the following risks can arise:
- Gas leaks: Gas leaks occur when gas seeps out from a loose or busted gas pipeline. The leak can cause gas poisoning and fire explosions, endangering lives and property. Gas Safe registered engineers often conduct risk assessment to combat various risks such as these. Their investigation involves observing the gas pipes for leaks, sealing any leaks, and running a tightness test to ensure that the pipes don’t come loose.
- Fire and explosions: When an appliance becomes faulty, it burns gas in an uncontrolled way. This can cause a gas leak and result in a fire outbreak or an explosion when ignited.
- Carbon monoxide poisoning: Carbon monoxide (CO) is a component in the gas we use for combustion, which is poisonous when inhaled for too long. It can be deadly if this begins to leak out because it doesn’t have a taste, smell, or color.
