Why Are Annual Gas Safety Checks So Important?

You may not have considered getting gas safety checks done in your properties before. As a landlord, you could be spending your time collecting rent, doing the paperwork and abiding to all the laws that apply to your property. However, there is one safety hazard that often gets overlooked, even by the most proactive property owners. It is gas safety. Many landlords, homeowners and even small business energy users do not realize that they have to meet annual gas safety check regulations.

There is a Landlord License Scheme, enforced by 40 local authorities across the UK. this scheme makes it mandatory for property owners to fulfill legal requirements and conduct annual gas safety checks to ensure that they are safe from hazards. Failing this, the property owner will have to pay thousands of pounds in fines.

In the case of an accident, which could occur by either fire or explosion or even carbon monoxide poisoning, the owner will not be compensated by the insurance provider. This is because failing to do annual checks qualified as negligence on the part of the owners. You could even be sued by various parties who have been affected.

Overall, it is a bad idea for people to not comply with these rules, whether you are living in these 40 ‘postcode lottery’ areas or not.

Ensuring safety of your property

You have to understand one thing here. Awareness regarding the rules of gas safety is very less in the UK. Every year, 7,500 unregistered gas fitters do 250,000 gas jobs in the country. These jobs are considered illegal but the clients may never know if they are working with certified individuals or not. Some property owners themselves are engaged in DIY repair jobs. This could cause several safety hazards for them, as well as the residents.

Even small businesses are not left behind in this negligence. At least 23% businesses have no idea that they have certain safety requirements to meet. Another 18% have been negligent in handling these problems and haven’t had a safety checkup done in over a year. Note that all of these businesses have been using mains gas.

Whether your property is being used for commercial or residential purposes, it is your duty to ensure that all gas appliances are in top shape. Business gas supplier Flogas Energy suggests that you should work only with Gas Safe registered engineers to ensure that your fittings are in top shape and are serviced perfectly. You can’t vouch for the appliances owned by the tenants. However, problems with their appliances can cause troubles for you as well. Therefore, it would be better to encourage best practices in your premises so that everyone remains safe.

According to new regulations adopted in April 2018, you can now schedule an annual check within 10 to 12 months of the previous such event. This will let the previous certificate expire before the new one comes into force. Additionally, you could also get a checkup done before 10 months. In this case, the new certificate will be valid for one year on the date of issue.

To find your local Gas Safe registered engineer, visit: www.gassaferegister.co.uk.