Gas Safety - The Do's and Don'ts
Mary-Anne Bowring 14/02/2024
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Is your home safe?
According to the Gas Safe Register, a quarter of homes in the UK have a potentially dangerous gas appliance. That is an awful lot of potential damage to property and, far more importantly, to homeowners and tenants. There are an amazing 700,000 incidents that result from appliancesevery year. So we thought that we would inform you of what you should be doing to keep your property as safe as houses.
There are specific regulations that apply to rented properties and anyone letting a house or flat should be well aware of what they are.
A landlord's obligations
Landlords are legally responsible for the safety of your tenants in relation to gas safety. By law you must:
- Repair and maintain gas pipework, flues and appliances, keeping them in a safe condition
- Ensure that an annual gas safety check is carried out on each appliance and flue
- Keep a record of each safety check
You should also keep your tenants informed about what are their responsibilities whilst they are staying in your property. You should fit alarms and encourage them to recognise the signs of carbon monoxide poisoning. This is potentially fatal. There are 6 symptoms to watch out for: headache, dizziness, breathlessness, nausea, collapse and loss of consciousness.
All the legal requirements for landlords in full can be read on the HSE website here. Landlords must never try to cut costs by carrying out servicing or maintenance on gas appliances themselves. They must not ignore the regulations. It could prove to be fatal, and could be costly, with non-compliance carrying fines of up to £6000 and even imprisonment.
PlanetRent helps with compliance
For a quick and easy way to ensure your property is compliant, why not take a closer look at our automated lettings platform PlanetRent.
It makes compliance really simple and has reminders for when those all important checks are due. Landlords can also use it to book services or call out engineers in an emergency, all whilst keeping your tenants informed of progress. Tenants get the chance to deliver their feedback on any repairs so you can see how well your contractor did. There’s no subscription so check it out today. www.planetrrent.co.uk
Planetrent Properties
info@planetrent.co.uk
0208 0599 550 (for sales)
Under Offer: This term applies to a property where the landlord is considering an offer but remains on the market. It implies that further offers may still be considered until the landlord formally accepts or declines the current offer.
Let Agreed: This term indicates that a landlord has provisionally agreed to enter into a rental agreement with a prospective tenant, pending additional checks and referencing. It doesn't require the prospective tenant to have paid a holding deposit.
Let: This term signifies an established binding rental agreement between the landlord and tenant.
For both lettings and sales, the guidance addresses additional terms:
New On The Market: This term is used for a property not advertised since its last sale or rental. It should only be used for a brief period.
New Instruction: It applies to a property assigned to an agent for marketing recently, even if it was previously listed with another agent without being sold or rented.
New and Exclusive: This term refers to a property that is either new on the market or a new instruction, exclusively available through a specific agent or portal.
New Method of Sale/Let: This term is used when a property is being marketed for sale or rent using an alternative approach to the original advertisement, such as transitioning to an auction or sealed bid.
Reduced: This term indicates that a property's price has recently been reduced. The reduction should be genuine and comply with the Chartered Trading Standards Institute's guidelines on pricing practices.