Gas safety checks before winter: what landlords and businesses need to do – HSE Guidance
The HSE has just released its winter gas safety guidance, and it arrived alongside a prosecution that every landlord and premises owner should read. A landlord was sentenced after gas safety checks were not carried out at a rented property for 8 years. A tenant and her 5 children lived there. When HSE investigated, the landlord could not produce any gas safety records covering that period.
The risk in a case like this is carbon monoxide. You can’t see it or smell it, and it can kill. Regular checks are how faults get picked up before anyone is harmed.
Why now?
Most boilers and gas appliances have sat idle for months. The first cold snap is when they get switched on and run hard, and that is when a blocked flue or a poorly maintained appliance causes trouble. Getting the check done in October is far easier than finding an engineer in the middle of a cold week in January.
What the HSE guidance covers
- Landlord duties and annual gas safety checks
- Gas safety records and certificates
- Carbon monoxide risks
- Maintaining gas appliances and flues
- Checking that your engineer is Gas Safe registered
It isn’t only for landlords. The HSE says it applies to other dutyholders too, so if you’re responsible for gas appliances, pipework or flues at a business or commercial site, the same thinking applies to you.
A quick checklist before the heating goes on
- Book your annual gas safety check with a Gas Safe registered engineer.
- Ask to see their Gas Safe ID card, and check them on the Gas Safe Register if you’re not sure.
- Keep the gas safety record somewhere you can find it. If an inspector asks, “we think it was done” won’t cut it.
- Have flues and appliances looked at as part of the check, not just the boiler itself.
- Fit a carbon monoxide alarm and test it.
- If you suspect a fault, stop using the appliance and get it looked at.
Watch out for unregistered fitters
HSE has also published several recent prosecutions of people doing gas work without being on the Gas Safe Register, including one who advertised on Facebook. Cheap and quick isn’t worth it if the person on the doorstep isn’t registered. It takes a minute to check.
Need a hand?
Techniheat is Gas Safe registered (number 194416), so you can check us on the Gas Safe Register yourself. If you want a gas safety check booked in before the cold weather arrives, call us on 0161 427 0541 for the fastest response.