A recent survey by property and flat-sharing website spareroom.co.uk has revealed that many landlords in the UK may not be fully aware of their legal requirements when it comes to gas safety.
The survey revealed that up to a third of tenants are currently living in properties that have not had the relevant boiler and gas appliance checks by a registered gas engineer.
Kevin Wellmann of the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) suggested this issue could well be due to landlords' lack of awareness of their responsibilities:
“It’s really important that only registered gas engineers perform installations, maintenance and annual checks of gas equipment. When carrying out gas work at a rental property engineers have the chance to check that the landlord and tenant know what’s legally required.”
The importance of making sure registered gas engineers approve the safety of boilers and other gas appliances cannot be overstated, with Carbon Monoxide (CO) poisoning causing around twenty deaths a year in the UK.
The report released by spareroom.co.uk has added importance due to the high turnover of rented accommodation at this time of year thanks to new students entering the rented housing market.
Now then, is the perfect time to remind landlords to make sure registered gas engineers check their properties. Kevin Wellmann added:
“As well as talking to landlords and tenants about the legal obligations, it’s a good idea to let them know about CO alarms. They provide an extra level of security and peace of mind at very little cost to the purchaser.”
Another recent survey, this time by npower, highlighted that gas safety awareness is currently at an all-time low in UK households. npower surveyed 2,000 people and found that:
· Up to 16 million UK households could be without CO alarms,
· More than a third of home-owners don't believe they need one.
· 83% of homes with gas fires do not get them serviced regularly,
· 20% of gas cookers have never even been looked at by a gas engineer.
Joan Coe of npower said:
“CO2 poisoning is often caused by failure or damage to gas appliances which prevents fuel from burning properly and because CO is colourless and odourless; leaks can be difficult to spot. Older appliances are a greater risk when it comes to CO leaks as they’re more likely to be inefficient and malfunction, wasting money and risking health.”
The advice for landlords, home-owners and tenants then is simple – be sure of your legal requirements and make sure all boilers and gas appliances are serviced regularly by a registered gas engineer.
RF Training is a vocational training provider offering courses on how to become a gas engineer as well as electrician and plumbing courses.