WHEN DID THESE REGULATIONS COME INTO FORCE?

These Regulations came into force for all rental properties on the 1st October 1994.

They impose a statutory duty on rental property owners to ensure that all gas appliances and pipework are in safe condition. Also that all gas appliances and pipework are checked for safety every 12 months and that a record is kept of such safety checks.

WHAT ARE THE PENALTIES FOR NON-COMPLIANCE WITH REGULATIONS?

Non-compliance carries a punishment of six months’ imprisonment or a ‘Level 5’ (currently £5,000) or both.

Please note that the owners could be held liable and possibly subject to a damages claim from injured parties. Insurance cover may well also be invalidated.

EXAMPLES OF GAS APPLIANCES & INSTALLATIONS

“Gas appliance” means an appliance i.e. heater, fire, cooker, refrigerator, tumble dryer designed for use by a consumer of any mains, propane or Calor gas for heating, lighting, cooking or other purposes for which gas can be used, including central heating systems.

“Gas installation pipework” means gas pipework, regulators, flues, valves and meters.

WHO IS ALLOWED TO INSTALL AND CHECK GAS APPLIANCES AND PIPEWORK?

Only those persons who are approved by the Health and Safety Executive i.e. British Gas employees, CORGI registered companies or individuals may carry out installation and checking of gas appliances, pipework, fittings and meters.

Your engineer will be able to advise you on the type of appliance that should be installed, and where. There are restrictions on the type and heat output of appliances that are installed in bedrooms and bathrooms.

To check if your gas engineer is CORGI registered, and that his/her registration is current, all owners can go onto the CORGI website, enter the installers name and address.

WHAT DOCUMENTATION SHOULD YOUR INSTALLER PROVIDE YOU WITH?

A pre-printed gas safety certificate with a CORGI logo will be supplied to you and you should check that it contains the following:

The name and address of the premises checked, the date of the check, the owner’s name and address, a description including location of each appliance or flue checked, details of any defects identified, any remedial action taken, confirmation that the check complies with the Regulations, name, address, signature and the CORGI registration number of the individual carrying out the check.

It is not statutory, but ideally all owners (especially those with properties outside the UK) should ask their engineer to install a Carbon Monoxide tester, which will highlight any gas leakage - which is undetectable to the human eye - to avoid the possibility of poisoning.

As from 31 October 1996, the Regulations state that a copy of the current gas safety certificate should be available for inspection within all holiday rental properties and that all certificates should be kept for a period of 2 years starting from the date of the check.

Disclaimer

holi-lets.com has provided these guidelines to help owners in the letting of their holiday home, however holi-lets.com takes no responsibility for the accuracy of the information or the consequences of any action arising from the information. All owners should make their own enquiries with regard to Statutory Regulations & Health & Safety requirements as set down by the country in which they are letting their property.