Guest Post: Landlord Gas Safety Regulations - What Landlords Must Know About Gas Checks

Every country has its own set of Gas safety regulations, and as a landlord, you are legally responsible for making sure the property you are renting out meets all those rules and regulations.

This article will outline all that you must know as a landlord about gas safety regulations, gas certificates, gas safety check cost, and the certification process.

We have you covered in this article.

Gas Safety Regulations

You must be aware of all the gas safety rules and regulations, and we will help you know what these rules and regulations are. The gas safety regulation is all the rules about the installation and safe use of your gas appliance. These regulations were legally enforced in the year 1998 to let the landlords know of their duties and the real estate agent to know about all sorts of gas safety checks they need to make as well on their part.

The regulations mainly encompass rules and safety checks on gas appliances, Pipework leading to Gas appliances, and last Flue from gas appliances. How are these checks done? Through annual gas safety inspections and by checking the Gas meter to ensure that there are no leaks in the house or property before it is rented out.

Importance Of Gas Safety Checks And Cost

Gas safety regulations were initially introduced and implemented in 1998; however, the regulation has been updated repeatedly over time. The amendment in the year 2018 provided the landlords with a little bit of flexibility with the renewal of the gas safety records.

Before this amendment, the landlords were required to perform a gas safety check within twelve months of the installation of the gas appliance or last safety check. So that’s a relief right here for the landlords.

The 2018 amendments have also given the landlords the increased flexibility without compromising the tenants’ safety.

The additional approved codes have also helped the landlords with advice on how to meet the requirements, which have made it easier for the landlord to understand legal laws and regulations.

The Regulations have also given the landlords the flexibility with the timings of these Gas safety checks before previous requirements. Landlords or real estate agents would do an additional check so they could start the procedure of renting out property. However, now they don’t have to do so.

When To Perform Gas Safety Checks And Certifications?

When a company does a gas safety inspection, the landlord is given a gas safety certificate. This certificate needs to be officially renewed after a certain period. This requirement is legal and therefore needs to be adhered to.

Landlords have the option to renew their certifications two months before the deadline date. So the deadline date is at the end of the 12 months, which means you need to apply for an inspection two months before your cross that date. This will ensure you didn’t lose any validity period and therefore gives you a smooth renting process, be it you are a landlord or a real estate agent.

Once you are done with the Gas inspection, it will be shown as it was carried out at your deadline date. So this means if your twelve-month period ending in January 2021 and you were inspected in November 2020, you would get a gas certification stating you are all set till January 2022.

One thing that landlords need to keep in mind is to ensure that the last two gas safety checks were carried on time because if they weren’t, you could land yourself in some serious trouble. Failure to comply with the regulations can lead to heavy fines.

What Should A Gas Safety Check Involve?

If you are a landlord, you probably don’t want to go through that long list of rules and regulations to see what a gas safety check should involve. Let us sum it up for you real quick and make it easier for you. The following are the few elements that you need to keep in mind when getting a gas safety inspection done of your property:

• A deep and thorough Visual inspection of all gas appliances
• Check the burner pressure of the gas appliances
• Check and records the Gas Rate of the appliances
• Make sure there are no gas leaks by conducting tests
• Check the flue gases of the appliances
• The condense trap needs to be cleaned and check thoroughly
• Gas safety devices should all be working. In some states, you can be fined if you do not install a carbon monoxide detector in your house or property
• You need to check ventilation and air supply
• Gas safety checks also include deep inspections of your heating systems. This means the professional would be looking for any defect in the heating system, radiators, and hot water cylinders.
• Checking the pressure vessels of the boiler
• Deep inspection of the boiler flue system

After carrying out these basic gas safety checks, you will be given a gas safety certificate without which you cant rent your property.

Conclusion

Gas Safety checks are important as they save you from future disasters. As a landlord, you don’t want to deal with that. So we hope this article helps you understand the Gas safety regulations. Why is it important? How much will a gas safety check cost you, and what does a Gas safety check generally involve?

Sometimes landlords get confused, which is why we wrote this article for just you. Also, due to COVID, many people are spending more time experimenting with their kitchen and cooking skills. A gas safety check is extremely important to ensure the safety of tenants.

Author Bio:
Shoaib provides ghostwriting and copywriting services. His educational background in the technical field and business studies helps him in tackling topics ranging from career and business productivity to web development and digital marketing. He occasionally writes articles for gas safety certs.