Does your rental property have gas appliances? As a Landlord, by law you must ensure you have a valid annual Landlords’ Gas Safety Certificate (often referred to as a CP12).
If you do not hold a valid Gas Safety Certificate, or do not complete remedial work as required, you could face prosecution by the HSE (Health and Safety Executive). It is a criminal offence to fail to adhere to gas safety requirements – punishable by penalties including fines or a prison term.
Did you also know, that since October 2015, if you fail to provide a new tenant with a Gas Safety Certificate before the start of the tenancy, you may be unable to serve a section 21 notice (notice to quit) to regain possession of the property?
The importance of ensuring that your rental property has a valid Gas Safety Certificate cannot be over-emphasised. It therefore makes sense to put assessment and certification of your gas appliances and fittings into the capable hands of a local, qualified expert – a Gas Safe registered engineer from HouseCert.
What are the Landlord’s responsibilities?
If your rental property has gas appliances, you have three main responsibilities in relation to the use of gas in the property:
- To carry out an annual Gas Safety Check. At 12-monthly intervals, you must ensure a Gas Safety Check is completed on all gas appliances, fittings and flues to ensure they are safe to use. Landlord Gas Safety Checks must be completed by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
- To keep records of the annual Gas Safety Check for 2 years. You must also provide a copy of the results to existing tenants within 28 days of completion, and new tenants must be provided with a copy before they move into the property.
- Maintain the appliances, fittings and flues. These must be maintained to keep them in a safe condition, and the recommendation is that they are serviced at least annually.
As well as these three requirements, it is also necessary to ensure your tenants are aware of how and where to turn off the gas, and also what actions to take if a gas emergency should arise.
Gas Safety Records
The results of the annual Gas Safety Checks must be recorded, and accompanied by records of any remedial actions that have been taken as a result. These records should be retained for 2 years by the Landlord, copied to existing tenants within one month, and given to new tenants before the start of the tenancy.
What is a CP12?
You may have heard Gas Safety Records referred to as a CP12 (short for ‘CORGI Proforma 12’). This is the name the records used to go by when all gas safety matters were handled by CORGI (Confederation for the Registration of Gas Installers). All gas engineers used to have to be CORGI registered.
In the UK, since 2009, the Gas Safe Register has taken over as the official body. Nowadays, Landlords’ Gas Safety Certificates (the CP12 replacements) may only be produced by Gas Safe registered engineers.
How can I get a Gas Safety Certificate?
At HouseCert, we offer a locally-based one-stop solution covering North Wales, The Wirral and Cheshire for Landlords. Our Gas Safe registered engineers can deliver a total package of a Gas Safety Check, a quote for any remedial work that may be required in order to achieve the required safety standard, and a Gas Safety Certificate on completion of the work. We can also arrange to service your boiler for you at an affordable price.
· Our Gas Safety engineers are locally-based, and registered with Gas Safe. The Gas Safety Check normally takes one hour (or more depending on accessibility).
- If you require a boiler service, our Gas Safe registered engineers can carry that out at the same time as the Gas Safety Check. Time and prices for boiler servicing vary depending upon the type of boiler and whether spare parts are required.
- Our Gas Safe registered engineers can also install new boilers and carry out boiler repairs if required.
- If the Safety Check indicates that remedial work is required, our engineers can produce a competitively-priced quote for the work to be done by qualified personnel.
- The Gas Safety Certificate will usually be issued within 24 hours, following the Gas Safety Check and any remedial actions have been taken.
- If multiple services are requested for one property, we aim to complete them all in one single visit, thereby minimising disruption to Tenants.
What happens on a Gas Safety Check?
The Gas Safe registered engineer will assess the safety of all gas appliances and fittings, ensuring they do not pose a threat to any users of the appliances. The engineer will need to be able to access the gas meter, and all appliances supplied with gas (cookers, hobs, gas fires, boilers, water heaters …).
If gas (or electricity) is supplied via a pre-payment meter, the Landlord will need to ensure there is credit available for safety tests to be run.
Typical safety checks include:
- A check for any gas leaks anywhere in the system – fittings, pipes or appliances.
- Ensuring the flue or chimney is safely removing fumes (combustion gases) to the outside air.
- Ensuring the appliance burns the gas properly, and has an adequate flow of fresh air to allow efficient burning.
- Ensuring safety devices are present and working correctly (they should shut off the appliance if a defect is present).
What is the impact of not having a Gas Safety Certificate?
It is a criminal offence for a rental property to fail to meet gas safety standards, and the HSE could punish you with a fine or even imprisonment if the appliances or fittings are found to be sub-standard.
Since October 2015, it has been essential to give a copy of a Gas Safety Certificate to any new tenant before they take possession, or you may be unable to serve a section 21 notice in order to remove them from the property.
What do I need to do next to get a Landlords’ Gas Safety Certificate?
Simply call us on 01244 422101 to arrange a visit or get in touch via our contact form
