Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998
The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 make it mandatory that gas appliances must be maintained in a safe condition at all times.
Landlords are required by the Regulations to ensure that all gas appliances are adequately maintained and that an annual safety check is carried out by a registered tradesperson.
Up until March 2009 the registration of gas installers has been handled by CORGI (Council for Registered Gas Installers). Gas Safe Register has replaced CORGI gas registration in Great Britain from 1st April 2009 and is now the official industry stamp for gas safety. For further information visit The Gas Safe Register.
All gas installers should carry identification cards which will state the type of work they are authorised to carry out. Once the inspection has been carried out, the installer will provide a gas safety record.
A gas safety record must be provided to tenants of properties which contain gas appliances when they first move in, and annually thereafter. Failure to do this is a criminal offence.
Any necessary repair or remedial work identified should be carried out straight away by the landlord who cannot place responsibility for this onto the tenant. If the need for any work is caused by the tenant’s behaviour, then the tenant can be charged for the cost of the repair work afterwards.
For further information about responsibilities and obligations, contact the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for advice. Additional information and details of the local HSE office can be obtained from the HSE website for Landlords and Letting Agents
It is very important that the gas regulations are complied with and all necessary repairs carried out as soon as possible. Defective gas appliances are very dangerous and some tenants have died as a result. Culpable landlords could be subject to legal action.
A Landlord Must:
• have gas appliances provided by them checked for safety by a registered gas installer within 12 months of their installation and then ensure further checks at least once every twelve months after that;
• gas pipe work should be inspected to ensure it is not leaking. The registered gas installer must take action to leave the appliance safe, if it fails a safety check. This could be remedial action, disconnection and/or a warning notice attached;
• give a copy of the gas safety record to any new tenant when they move in or to an existing tenant(s) within 28 days of the check;
• keep a record of the gas safety record made for each appliance for two years;
• ensure that gas appliances, fittings, and flues are maintained in a safe condition.
Exceptions to the Regulations
• the Regulations do not apply to gas appliances that are owned by the tenant;
• the Regulations do not apply to leases for terms of more than seven years unless the landlord has a break clause which entitles the landlord to end the lease during the first seven years;
• the Regulations allow a defence for some specified regulations where a person can show that they took all reasonable steps to prevent the contravention of the Regulations;
• portable or mobile gas appliances supplied from a cylinder must be included in maintenance and the annual check; however they are excluded from other parts of the Regulations.
Room-Sealed Appliances
The Regulations require that:
• a gas appliance installed in a bathroom or a shower room must be a room-sealed appliance (i.e. sealed from the room in which it is located and obtaining the air for combustion from the open air outside the building, discharging the products of combustion direct into the open air);
• a gas fire, other gas space-heater or a gas water-heater of 14 kilowatt heat output or less in a room used or intended to be used as sleeping accommodation must either:
- be a room-sealed appliance; or
- incorporate a safety control designed to shut down the appliance before there is a build-up of a dangerous quantity of the products of combustion in the room concerned.
Indications that an Appliance is Faulty or Dangerous
Danger signs to look for are:
• stains, soot or discolouring around a gas appliance indicates that the flue or chimney is blocked, in which case carbon monoxide can build up in the room;
• a yellow or orange flame on a gas fire or water heater. The most effective indication of a combustion problem would be the activation of a properly installed carbon monoxide detector.
Tenants’ Duties
Tenants also have responsibilities imposed upon them by the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998.
They must report any defect that they become aware of and must not use an appliance that is not safe. Tenants should be informed of this in writing and a clause explaining their duties should be included in their tenancy agreement: this would include reporting any defect and not using an appliance that is not safe.
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