Gas Appliances - Landlords

The Gas Appliances (Safety) Regulations 1995 The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998

Gas Appliances (Safety) Regulations 1995

These Regulations require that all new gas appliances must be safe and come with instructions when first placed on the market.

Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998

The Regulations deal with the safe installation, maintenance and use of gas systems, including gas fittings, appliances and flues, mainly in domestic and commercial premises, eg offices, shops, public buildings and similar places. The requirements include both natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

The Regulations place specific duties on landlords to ensure that gas appliances, fittings and flues provided for tenants� use are safe. These duties to protect tenants� safety are in addition to the more general ones that landlords have under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

The duties generally apply to appliances and flues provided for tenants� use in �relevant premises�, that is those occupied for residential purposes under either a licence � which would catch holiday lets - a tenancy agreement for a set term, or a lease as defined in the Regulations. Essentially any lease or any license (including one under seven years) is covered.

You are required to:

ensure gas fittings and flues are safely installed;

ensure that gas fittings and flues are maintained in a safe condition. Gas appliances should be serviced in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. If these are not available it is recommended that they are serviced annually unless advised otherwise by a Gas Safe registered engineer;

ensure an annual safety check is carried out on each gas appliance/flue. Before any new lease starts, you must make sure that these checks have been carried out within one year before the start of the lease date, unless the appliances in the property have been installed for less than 12 months, in which case they should be checked within 12 months of their installation date;

have all installation, maintenance and safety checks carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer;

keep a record of each safety check for at least two years;

issue a copy of the latest safety check record to existing tenants within 28 days of the check being completed, or to any new tenant before they move in.  In certain cases there is an option to display the record and holiday lets should display the certificate in the holiday unit.

 

The safety check and maintenance requirements generally apply to any gas appliance or flue installed in the ‘relevant premises’ except that:

appliances owned by the tenant are not covered;

flues/chimneys solely connected to an appliance owned by the tenant are not covered;

Any appliances and flues serving ‘relevant premises’ (such as central heating boilers not installed in tenants’ accommodation, but used to heat them) are covered.

Your duty to maintain and carry out safety checks applies to fixed as well as portable appliances, such as LPG cabinet heaters.

The safety check does not apply to any gas appliance (such as gas fires provided for customers in non-residential areas of public houses) that is exclusively used in a part of premises occupied for non-residential purposes but you still have an obligation under the HSW Act 1974 to properly maintain and install those appliances too.

The Regulations provide that only businesses registered with the Gas Safe Register are permitted to carry out installation and maintenance of gas appliances in most business premises or in most properties let for commercial or domestic use.  The regulations apply to landlords and employers.

When installing gas appliances, you should ask to see their current registration certificate, and you can find out more about Gas Safe and check whether the installer is a member on the Gas Safe Register website

An approved installer is required to comply with appropriate standards so that the work may done in a manner which avoids danger to any person and that the equipment installed is suitable.

It is illegal to install any fixed fire, space heater or water heater of more than 14kW input into a room intended to be used as sleeping accommodation, unless it is 'room sealed'.  If it is below 14kW, it must either be 'room sealed' or have an oxygen depletion cut out.

Mobile cabinet gas heaters should only be used in rooms where there is sufficient ventilation.

Employers with gas appliance at places of work, landlords and providers of holiday accommodation must ensure that gas appliances, including LPG cabinet heaters, are checked for safety, including, where relevant, checks on the effectiveness of the flue, the ventilation, gas operating pressure and gas tightness by a Gas Safe Registered engineer.

Checks should be carried out at least every 12 months, and records kept of the test dates, defects and remedial action taken. Records should be kept for 2 years.  Landlords must also make this information available to tenants and prospective tenants.

Do not assume that an annual safety check is sufficient.  If you have any concerns, ask your Gas Safe engineer.

All gas appliances should be provided with adequate instructions for their safe use.

No, except that a contract may be drawn up between a landlord or tenant for an appliance or flue installed in a non-residential part of a premises, for example shops and public houses etc.

Your tenant has a duty not to use an appliance they believe to be dangerous

The landlord retains overall responsibility for ensuring compliance with requirements. The management contract should clearly identify who is to make arrangements for maintenance and safety checks to be carried out and to keep records.

In these situations the original landlord may retain duties which overlap with those acquired by the person who sub-lets. In such cases, close co-operation and clear allocation of duties are essential to ensure that legal duties are fully met, and that the terms of the contract properly safeguard tenants’ safety.

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Additional Reading:

Gas Cooking Appliances
Gas Heating Appliances
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

A Guide to Landlord's Duties under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations

Quick Guides are not intended to be a full statement of the Law.
For a definition of "Employee" and "Employer"
Contains public sector information published by the Health and Safety Executive under the Open Government Licence