15 Reasons You Shouldn't Ignore Gas Safety Certificate For Landlords
Gas Safety Certificate For Landlords It is important to remember that it is only landlords who are responsible for gas safety inspections. This applies to landlords of residential dwellings as well as those who rent rooms or holiday accommodation. Landlords must prove that the pipework as well as the flues, appliances and appliances within their properties are safe prior to putting them on the market. This can be done by having an official gas safety certificate. What is a Gas Safety Certificate? If you're a tenant or homeowner, you must to comply with the law in regards to keeping your gas appliances and installations in good working order. Every property owner should obtain their gas safety certificates at least once per calendar year. What exactly is a gas safety certificate? And who is the person who requires one? A Gas Safe Certificate, also called 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 that are in your rental home. The engineer will also make sure that all ventilation passages are free of obstructions in your rental properties to prevent dangerous carbon dioxide build-up. The Gas Safe Certificate will provide you with the results of your annual inspection. It will list all of the inspected gas appliances and installations, including their model, make and location within your home. The engineer will also state whether they believe the appliances to be safe to use or not, and will provide details of the work that needs to be done to ensure the security of your tenants. You will have to give your Landlord Gas Safety Certificate to your tenants within 28 days following the service. It is also required to provide it to new tenants when they start their lease. If you don't follow the rules you could face charges or fines. Even though homeowners don't need a Gas Safety Certificate to live in peace, it's a good thing to get one every year. This will not only give you peace of mind regarding the condition of your gas and heating appliances, but it will aid in identifying any issues early. This could save you a lot of money and hassle in the long run. If you're thinking of selling your house If you're thinking of selling your home, you should get a Gas Safety Certificate will prove very beneficial to potential buyers since it can prove that you've taken care of your gas appliances and installations. read this article speeds up the conveyancing as it doesn't require additional checks. Who is in need of a certificate of gas safety? As a landlord, it's your obligation to ensure that all flues and gas appliances in your rental property are safe. This means that you'll need to schedule regular inspections by an Gas Safe registered engineer to ensure that everything is in good working order. You'll need to provide your tenants a copy of the Gas Safety Certificate once the inspection is completed. Ideally, this will be done before your current tenants move in or at the start of any new leases. You should keep the copy for yourself and keep records of any maintenance done to the gas appliances in your home. Landlords are legally required to have their properties checked for gas safety at least once every 12 months. This applies to all homes with gas appliances owned by the landlord, as well as any appliances that are available to tenants. If you are a landlord with a valid gas certificate safety, you could face massive penalties (upto PS6,000), legal action from your tenants or even criminal charges. The greatest risk is that a tenant might be injured or even killed due to defective appliances in your rental property. Only Gas Safe engineers are qualified to conduct an Gas Safety check. Only Gas Safe engineers are trained to examine and service appliances and installations in a safe manner. Landlords can check the engineer's Gas Safe Register registration by looking for their ID card, with an exclusive hologram. It is very rare for a tenant not to allow access to the rental property in order to conduct an Gas Safety Check. However it happens. In these situations, it is important that the landlord explain to the tenant why it is a obligation and how harmful carbon monoxide could be if not detected in time. If a tenant still won't let an engineer into their home the landlord should think about giving them an Section 21 notice to end their tenure. This should be accompanied with an explanation of the reason they're being removed. For instance rent arrears, non-payment or serious damage to the property. How do I obtain an gas safety certificate? Landlords must have gas safety certificates to prove their rental properties are in compliance with government regulations. However, some tenants might refuse to let gas engineers into their homes for this reason – which is frustrating and unfair to landlords. Landlords need to make sure tenants know that gas engineers aren't spying and only need to enter their homes to sign a legally-required document. This will decrease the number of tenants who deny access to gas inspections. Once the gas engineer has conducted the necessary checks and is confident that all appliances are safe to use they will issue the Landlord Gas Safety Record document. It is also referred to as a CP12 which stands for CORGI Proforma 12 CORGI was previously the Council for Registered Gas Installers however, it was replaced in April 2009 by the Gas Safe Register. The landlord must provide their existing tenants with a copy of the document within 28 days (about four weeks) of the time the check is completed. They must also give an applicant one upon signing the lease. The landlord must also make sure that a carbon monoxide detector is installed in each room used as living space that has fixed combustion appliances (excluding gas cookers) and that smoke alarms are fitted to every storey of the property. The HSE website has more details for landlords, including free brochures as well as an Approved Code of Practice to manage gas Installations and Appliances in a Rental Property. If a landlord is not able to gain access to the property in order to conduct the required gas safety inspections, they may use the section 21 notice to evict tenants. A notice of section 21 is only valid if the landlord made at least three unsuccessful attempts to gain access to the property to conduct the gas safety test and kept a record of the attempts. If the landlord fails to follow the proper procedure and then tries to expel their tenants unlawfully they could be found guilty of harassing and could face heavy fines. What is the reason I need a gas safety certificate? Landlords need to have a gas safety certification to ensure that the home they rent out is safe for tenants to live in. This means they must have regular checks performed by an accredited gas engineer to ensure that the appliances are safe to use. It also means that they should ensure that the gas pipework, appliances, and flues are in good working order. This helps to prevent any fires or accidents that may be caused by defective appliances, in addition to helping to reduce the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning which can happen if an appliance isn't properly installed or maintained. It is essential that landlords stay current with their Gas Safety certificates, as they could be penalized if they don't. Landlords need to show that their annual gas safety inspection has been carried out on time. This can be done by looking up their Gas Safe register online, or by obtaining a copy of the latest certificate from the engineer who visited the property. If any of the appliances are identified as unsafe or inoperable, the landlord must get them repaired immediately to ensure the tenant's health and safety. Some landlords may be having difficulty convincing their tenants to allow them access the property for gas safety inspections. It could be because they believe that it is an invasion of their privacy, or are fighting with their landlord. If this is the case, it is an ideal idea for the landlord to send an explicit letter stating why the gas safety checks are required and what they'll entail. The letter can be delivered via recorded delivery and the tenant will have 14 days to respond. If the tenant continues to refuse to give access to the landlord then they should consider taking further action. This could include drafting a Section 21 notice or applying to the court for an injunction to compel the tenant to allow access. But, this is a serious step that should only be considered as a last resort.