Homeowner Gas Safety Certificate, also known as a Landlord Gas Safety Certificate, is a written evidence that your gas heating system has been checked or fixed by a Gas Safe registered engineer and works properly. This document is usually given after work has been done to your system, but it can also be given after a boiler service every year.
Homeowner Gas Safety Certificate: What Landlords Should Know
Landlords are responsible for ensuring the safety and habitability of their rental properties. Performing annual gas safety checks is one part of this.
It is your duty as a landlord to ensure that your rental properties are habitable and safe. Keeping up with the property’s annual gas safety inspections is one part of this. This certificate of gas safety is necessary. You risk paying substantial fines if you fail to complete these checks.
Gas fittings and appliances in rental properties must be installed and used safely by landlords and letting agents in accordance with the Gas Safety Regulations (Installation and Use). The following appliances and fittings must be kept safe by landlords and letting agents:
- Gas appliances, such as gas stoves, gas fireplaces, and so on.
- Pipes that connect to gas appliances
- Flues that come from gas appliances
What is included on a Homeowners gas safety Certificate?
The following information is included on gas safety certificates:
- A description of each appliance;
- The engineer’s name, registration number, and signature;
- The date the check was performed;
- The property’s address;
- The location of the tested appliances and pipework;
- The results of safety checks and work;
- Any outstanding work that may be required;
- Information about any defects or faults and how to fix them.
The appliance’s gas supply will be disconnected if the safety engineer determines that it is unsafe to use, and they should offer suggestions for any necessary repairs. To ensure the tenants’ safety, repairs should be made as soon as possible and a new inspection should be done to get your updated gas safety certificate.
If the template differs from other certificates you’ve seen, don’t worry; as long as it contains the necessary information, it will suffice as proof of the safety of your appliance.
Do I require one?
You are not required by law to have a Gas Safety Record if you are a homeowner. A Gas Safe-registered engineer should still check and service all of your gas appliances.
You should request documentation from your engineer indicating that you have undergone a gas safety inspection or other work.
Gas safety checks are required by law for landlords every year. This must be done on all gas installations and appliances you own in each property.
The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations of 1998 mandate this. However, the landlord is not obligated to have an appliance checked if the tenant owns it, such as a cooker.
A Gas Safety Record, formerly known as a certificate or a CP12, will be provided to the landlord by the engineer.
How do I acquire a certificate of gas safety?
Schedule an appointment with a Gas Safe-registered engineer to obtain a gas safety certificate or Gas Safety Record form.
They will check all of your gas appliances and accessible pipework visually to ensure that they are in good condition and test the pipework to ensure that there are no gas leaks.
When do I need to schedule a gas safety check?
The gas installations in your rental property must be inspected annually. This should occur sometime in the tenth to twelfth month following the check from the previous year.
Assuming you have the check finished before or later than this, your next look at ought to in any case be conveyed a year from the ongoing one.
The results of the tests they carried out on the gas appliances in your home will be included in the copy of your Gas Safety Record that your gas engineer will give you.
A copy must also be distributed to your tenants. It must be received by new tenants before they move in, while existing tenants must receive a copy within 28 days of the check’s completion.
How much does a certificate of gas safety cost?
A gas safety certificate has no set price because the cost depends on the Gas Safe engineer you choose. Since Gas Safe Register does not regulate certificate costs, it is best to obtain several quotes to compare.
Costs can begin at £35 and go up to more than £150, contingent upon the number of gas apparatuses that are to be checked.
It is a good idea to ask several engineers in your area for estimates because, like any contractor or business, they will all have their own prices. Depending on the size of your home, Â and the length of time it will take to complete the safety check.
Keep in mind that these costs do not include the cost of making any necessary repairs to your home or appliances in order to get them up to the standard needed to pass the safety check.
To Sell My House, Do I Need a Gas Safety Certificate?
There are certain rules that must be followed when purchasing or selling a property. Gas safety is important when buying or selling a home and does the following:
Boosting your chances of selling the property. As it stands, there are no legal requirements requiring a seller to provide a gas safety certificate at the time of sale. Having said that, prospective buyers may feel more at ease about gas appliances’ functionality and operation if they see a valid gas safety certificate. You should make sure that the house is safe for the new owner to live in before you put it up for sale.
This includes ensuring that gas check are done across the property and that at the hour of offer of the property it is totally okay for the new landowner to move into.
As a result, there is no legal requirement to obtain gas safety certificates or checks when purchasing or selling a home.
Buyers asking for documentation: One thing potential buyers can do is ask the seller for the gas safety records, and the seller will provide any documentation they have. As a direct request from the buyer, it might come to the point where a sale would be contingent on the property having a gas safety certificate.
Is it necessary for me to notify my tenants before I can access the property?
Your tenants must consent to the gas engineer’s access to the property and you will need to give them 24 hours’ notice. In order to meet the needs of your tenants, you may need to adjust the date and time of the inspection.
You should not just give up if your tenant is being difficult and does not allow you access to the property. You must be able to demonstrate that you have followed the law in every “reasonable way.”
Send a letter to your tenants explaining your need for access and the safety checks in the first instance. If this does not work, you can ask your local council to represent you when you speak with your tenant. You might want to think about applying for a court injunction or evicting your tenant as a last resort.
