Gas Safety Certificate For Landlords
It is important to keep in mind that only landlords are responsible for the gas safety inspection. This applies to both landlords who own residential properties as well as those who lease rooms or holiday accommodation.
Before they can put their properties for sale landlords must prove that the pipework and appliances they have installed in their homes are safe. Gas safety certificates can help you achieve this.
What is a Gas Safety Certification?
If you're a tenant or homeowner, you need to adhere to the law when it comes to maintaining your gas appliances and installation in good operating condition. Every property owner must obtain their gas safety certificates at least once per calendar year. What exactly is a gas safety certification? Who needs one?
A Gas Safe Certificate, also known as a Landlord Gas Safety Record, is an official document that is issued by a qualified Gas Safe engineer after carrying out a full examination of all gas appliances and flues in your rental property. The engineer will also verify that the ventilation passages in your property are free of obstruction to avoid dangerous carbon monoxide build-up.
The Gas Safe Certificate will detail the results of your annual inspection. The Gas Safe Certificate will provide the results of your yearly inspection. It will list all the gas appliances and installations that were examined as well as their model, make and model, as well as the location of your property. The engineer will inform you if the appliances are safe to use, and provide details on the work required to ensure your tenants' safety.
You must provide your Landlord Gas Safety Certificate to your tenants within 28 days following the service. You should also provide it to new tenants when they start their tenancy. If you don't comply, you could face charges or fines.
Although homeowners do not require a Gas Safety Certificate to live in peace, it's recommended to obtain one every year. This will not only set your mind at ease about the state of your heating and gas appliances, but can help you spot any issues early. This can save you a lot of money and hassle in the long term.
Gas Safety Certificates can be extremely useful to prospective buyers when selling your home. They will show that you've taken good care of all of your gas appliances and installations. It can also speed up the conveyancing as it doesn't require any additional inspections.
Who requires an official certificate of gas safety?
As a landlord, it's your duty to ensure that all gas appliances and flues within your rental property are safe. You'll need to arrange for regular inspections from a Gas Safe registered technician to ensure that everything is functioning correctly.
After the inspection is completed and you're ready to get an original copy of your Gas Safety Certificate to give to your tenants. This should be done ideally prior to your tenants moving into the property, or at the beginning of a new lease. Keep a copy of the certificate for yourself and any documentation of the maintenance that was carried out on your property's gas appliances.
The landlords' properties must be examined for gas safety at a minimum every 12 months. This includes the landlord's gas appliances and any appliances that are provided to tenants.
If you are a landlord with a valid certificate of gas safety, you could be subject to massive penalties (upto PS6,000) or legal actions from your tenants, or even criminal charges. on the main page , however, is that one of your tenants might be injured or killed as a result of faulty appliances in your rental property.
Only Gas Safe engineers are qualified to conduct the Gas Safety check. Only Gas Safe professionals are trained to check, service and test appliances and installations safely. Landlords are able to check whether an engineer is registered with the Gas Safe Register by checking their ID card. It has a unique Hologram.
Although it's not common for tenants to deny access to their rental property in order to permit an Gas Safety Check, it can happen. In these instances, it is important that the landlord informs the tenant the reason why this is a legal requirement and how hazardous carbon monoxide could be if it is not detected on time.
If the tenant is refusing to allow an engineer in and the landlord is not willing to let an engineer in, then the landlord might be tempted to issue the option of a Section 21 notice that ends their tenure. This should be followed by an explanation as to why they are being forced out. For example the non-payment of rent, or significant damage to the property.
How do I get a gas safety certification?
Landlords need a gas safety certificate to ensure their rental properties are in compliance with the laws of the government. However, some tenants might not allow gas engineers into their homes for this reason - which is frustrating and unfair for landlords. Landlords should try to get the word out to their tenants that gas engineers are not agents of the state and require access only to complete an essential legally-required document. This will reduce the number tenants who are unable to access gas inspections.
Once the gas engineer has completed the necessary checks and is satisfied that the appliances are safe for use, they will issue the Landlord Gas Safety Record document. This is also known as a CP12 which is a reference to CORGI Proforma 12 CORGI was once the Council for Registered Gas Installers, but was replaced in April 2009 by the Gas Safe Register.
The landlord is required to provide their existing tenants with a copy the document within 28 days (about four weeks) of the check being completed. They must also give a new tenant one upon signing the lease. The landlord must also make sure that a carbon monoxide detector has been installed in every room used as living accommodation which has fixed combustion appliances (excluding gas cookers) and that smoke alarms are installed to every storey of the property. Landlords can find more information about these requirements, including free brochures and an Approved Code of Practice for the management of gas Installations and Appliances in a Rental Property (Appendix 3), on the HSE website.
If a landlord is unable to gain access to the property to perform the necessary gas safety inspections, they can make use of the section 21 notice to expel tenants. how much gas safety certificate is important to keep in mind that a notice under section 21 is only served when the landlord has made at least three attempts to gain entry for the gas safety inspection and has kept records of these attempts. If a landlord fails to adhere to the proper procedure and tries evicting tenants without a valid reason, they may be found guilty of harassment and may be fined a significant amount.
Why do I require a gas safety certification?
Landlords require a gas safety certification to ensure the property they rent out is safe for tenants to reside in. Gas engineers must conduct regular checks to make sure that all appliances are safe to use. This means that they must to ensure that the gas pipelines and appliances are in good working in good working order.
This helps to prevent any fires or accidents that may be caused by defective appliances, in addition to reducing the chance of carbon monoxide poisoning, that can happen when an appliance isn't properly maintained or installed. Gas Safety Certificates are important for landlords to keep current. They could be penalized if they don't.
Landlords need to prove that their annual gas safety test has been carried out on time. You can verify your Gas Safe Register online or request a copy from the engineer that visited the property. The landlord must fix any appliances that are dangerous or faulty immediately to protect tenant's safety.
Some landlords have trouble convincing their tenants to grant access to their properties in order to conduct gas safety inspections. This could be due to a number of reasons, such as the fact that they feel it's an invasion of privacy or they are currently in a dispute with their landlord. If this is the case, it's a good idea to ask the landlord to write an explicit letter stating the reason why the gas safety inspections are necessary and what they'll entail. The letter can be sent via recorded delivery and will give the tenant 14 days to reply.
If the tenant refuses to give the landlord access they must take further action. This could involve writing a Section 21 notice or applying to the court for an injunction to compel the tenant to allow access. This is a serious step which should only be used in the last resort.