Gas Safety Week 2023: A Reminder Of Landlord Responsibilities
Gas Safety Week 2023 will soon be with us. So now might be a good time to look at what Gas Safety Week is intended to achieve, and at landlords’ responsibilities for gas safety.
What is Gas Safety Week?
Gas Safety Week is an annual event. This year it runs from 11-17 September. Gas Safety Week is an event run by Gas Safe Register – the official gas registration body for gas businesses and engineers in the UK. (The register was previously operated by CORGI until 2009.)
Essentially Gas Safety Week is a campaigning event to raise awareness of the importance of gas safety amongst the public and businesses alike. It is also designed to draw attention to the warning signs of unsafe gas appliances and to provide gas safety tips.
Gas Safety Week adopts a different theme annually. In 2023 it is diversity in its many forms. It aims to celebrate the diversity in gas engineers, from their personal and professional experiences, their qualifications and training to the different levels and variety of work and jobs undertaken by them.
As is normally the case, Gas Safety Week is likely to receive extensive coverage in the media, both online and offline. As is one of the aims of the campaign it may prompt homeowners, tenants and others to think and question the gas safety in their homes, perhaps for the first time.
Landlords’ responsibilities for gas safety
Gas safety is, of course, important not just in Gas Safety Week but all year round.
Gas appliances, including boilers, cookers and gas fires, that are faulty or which have not been properly maintained can cause gas leaks, fires, explosions and carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. Carbon monoxide is known as the ‘silent killer’ because you cannot see, smell or taste it.
In the lettings industry all landlords have a legal duty to ensure that all gas appliances, fittings and flues provided in a rented property are properly maintained in a safe condition. This is set down by The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998.
As part of this all gas appliances and associated fittings provided for a tenant’s use must have an annual safety check. This must be carried out by a gas engineer who is qualified and has a current registration with the Gas Safe Register. The engineer will complete and supply a form known as a Landlord/Homeowner Gas Safety Record – also sometimes known as a CP12.
A Landlord/Homeowner Gas Safety Record shows details of the property, the appliances there, the results of the check and any action required. A copy of this record must be provided to the tenant within 28 days of completion of the check – or to any new tenant before they move in to the property. Landlords must keep their copy of the record until two further checks have taken place.
One further reason for carrying out gas safety checks and retaining the gas safety records is that copies will usually need to be produced in connection with many licence applications and renewals, such as HMO licences and selective licences.
Penalties for breaking gas safety regulations
Failing to have gas safety checks carried out as necessary, or being unable to produce the Landlord/Homeowner Gas Safety Record, is a criminal offence. Landlords can be prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and if convicted are liable for unlimited fines and/or six months imprisonment.
Local authorities can also take action. They can issue hazard awareness notices, improvement notices and prohibition orders and also revoke licences. They can seek banning orders against landlords who are convicted.
It’s also important to remember that ensuring gas safety is not just a legal responsibility for landlords but good practice too. No good landlord would want their tenants to be at risk from dangerous gas appliances. As well as the annual, legally required gas safety check good landlords will want to ensure their gas appliances are safe at all times and encourage tenants to be aware of gas safety and raise any concerns immediately. Gas Safety Week should assist with this.
CO alarms and monitors
Although it is not part of the gas safety check, a British Standard EN 50291 carbon monoxide or CO alarm is now required to be fitted in every habitable room of a rental property which contains gas appliances. (This excludes cooking appliances.)
Landlords are also required to carry out checks and tests to ensure that carbon monoxide alarms in a rental property are working on the day a new tenancy begins.
Action landlords should take on gas safety
Firstly, be aware of your legal responsibilities for gas safety.
Diarise upcoming gas safety checks for your properties so that they do not get overlooked. Gas Safe Register can send you an automated email or text reminder – you can sign up for these here.
Checks can be carried out up to two months before an existing certificate expires whilst retaining the annual expiry date anniversary.
Plan well ahead. Gas engineers tend to be busiest in the autumn (when central heating systems are first used after many months and start breaking down) so many engineers are often booked up at this time of year.
If you don’t currently have a registered gas engineer to use you can find one via the Gas Safe Register here.
Doing this well in advance offers an opportunity to shop around for the most competitive prices. According to Checkatrade a gas safety check on a property with one gas boiler and one other gas appliance is likely to cost between £60 and £90 + VAT.
Have a system for issuing copies of the Landlord/Homeowner Gas Safety Record to tenants, and filing your copies away so that you can easily find them if needed. This can be done on paper or electronically.
It is good practice to ask your tenants to sign a receipt to confirm that they have received a certificate, especially at the start of their tenancy.
If you use a letting agent or managing agent for your property they can usually handle gas safety checks for you if you prefer. However, landlords are ultimately legally responsible for gas safety. (So it is sensible to make sure your agent is handling everything correctly.)
