Fighting for a Gas Safe Nation – Landlords
16 Sep 2015
In 2007, a 65-year old woman died after she lit a log fire whilst heating up water in the boiler. These two activities then made the equipment explode. The investigation shows that the iron boiler behind her fireplace was not properly decommissioned.
Fighting for a Gas Safe Nation – Landlord’s
After the explosion occurred, the Severn Vale Housing Society Ltd was fined £50,000 and was ordered to pay costs of £7,500. This was successfully prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive.
This just shows how important it is for landlords to make sure their tenants are safe in their own homes. In line with this, the people behind GasSafeRegister.co.uk are proud to be supporting the annual Gas Safety Week which starts on the 14th of September and runs until the 20
Gas Safety Week is an annual safety week that aims to raise knowledge and understanding of gas safety and the importance of taking care of your gas appliances. It is co-ordinated by Gas Safe Register, the official list of gas engineers that are legally allowed to work on gas in the UK.
Landlords are legally responsible for the safety of their tenants inside their homes. Landlords should make sure maintenance and annual safety checks on gas appliances are carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer. If you’re a landlord, you are legally obliged to make sure that:
- Pipe-work, appliances and flues provided for tenants are maintained in a safe condition.
- All appliances and flues provided for tenants’ use have an annual safety check. Set a reminder so you don’t forget at www.staygassafe.co.uk.
- Maintenance and annual safety checks are carried out by an engineer registered with Gas Safe Register.
- All gas equipment (including any appliance left by a previous tenant) is safe or otherwise removed before re-letting.
- A Gas Safety Record is provided to the tenant within 28 days of completing the check or to any new tenant before they move in.
- You keep a copy of the Gas Safety Record for two years.
Before any gas work is carried out, always check the engineer’s ID card and make sure the engineer is qualified for the work that you need doing. Encourage your tenants to do the same.
For more information and to find and check an engineer go to
www.GasSafeRegister.co.uk or call 0800 408 5500.
This article was published in September 2015. Please see our website for latest work, pricing & to search for your service.