If you’re planning your annual maintenance for your home or rental property, don’t overlook essential property maintenance. An annual gas safety check should be part of your regular maintenance to ensure safety and compliance (and to avoid lawsuits).
Gas safety checks are a quick and easy way to ensure that your property is safe from the risk of carbon monoxide incidents and other gas-related issues. It can be tempting to assume that because you’ve never noticed a problem, you can ignore the annual check, but that’s a big mistake.
Whether you’re a homeowner planning your own regular maintenance or a landlord of several properties, annual gas safety checks should be at the top of your maintenance to-do list. Here is what you need to know about these safety checks and why you should have them done on your home or rental property.
What Does A Gas Safety Check Entail?
A gas safety check involves checking all of your gas appliances to ensure that they’re properly installed and working safely. This can include checking your gas boilers, cookers, and fires to ensure they’re in good working order.
A certified gas safety engineer must carry out these checks. The engineer will look for things such as adequate placement of gas appliances, whether or not there is sufficient air supply to and around the appliance, and inspections of chimneys and flues to ensure they are correctly ventilating gas fumes away from your home.
Who Needs Gas Safety Checks?
All homeowners with gas appliances should schedule annual gas safety checks. These checks can help keep your family and property safe from potential gas-related hazards. These checks aren’t required by law, but they should be considered part of your essential property maintenance.
If you are a landlord, gas safety checks are required by law. These annual checks show proof that your properties are safe from any potential gas-related hazards.
Landlord Gas Safety Certificates
For each property you lease, you must obtain a gas safety certificate every 12 months to remain compliant with the law. After a gas safe engineer checks your gas appliances, if they’re found to be in good working order, you’ll receive a certificate called a CP12.
You must keep a copy of this certificate for two years and issue a copy to your tenants as proof that you have fulfilled your obligations under the law.
If a problem is found, it may need to be fixed before the CP12 can be issued. If you have to wait for repairs to be made, the damaged appliance must not be used until the repairs have been carried out.
Should Homeowners Bother With Gas Safety Checks?
Although homeowners aren’t required by law to have annual gas safety checks, they should absolutely be a part of your essential property maintenance. Appliances can deteriorate over time and become less safe. Faulty gas connections and poor ventilation may go unnoticed until they pose a dangerous problem.
Regular checks can also prolong the life of your gas appliances and save you money. Clogged pipes, worn out or missing parts, and leaks all make your appliances less energy-efficient. You may be able to extend the life of your appliances and save money on replacements with regular checks by a Gas Safe engineer.
Can You Perform Your Gas Safety Check?
Gas appliances can be dangerous if you don’t know how to inspect or connect them properly. It’s never worth risking doing it yourself when it comes to gas, so leave the inspections and repairs up to the professionals and keep your home and family safe.
Let Us Help Keep You Safe And Compliant
At Edinburgh Gas & Renewables, we know that safety is essential. Our Gas Safe engineers can help you keep your home and family safe with regular gas appliance maintenance and checks. We can also help keep landlords compliant with the law.
We also offer alternative renewable energy solutions for homeowners looking to move away from gas heating. Options such as air source heat pumps and solar thermal water heating can help reduce your energy costs and your impact on the environment.
Whether you’re looking to improve your home’s gas safety or completely change the way you heat it, we can help find the solution that’s right for you.
Contact us today to schedule your next gas safety check or find out more about your renewable energy options. We’re ready to help you with your gas and renewable needs.
