Who Needs a Landlord Safety Certificate
- Posted by:
- Admin
- Tags:
- landlord safety checks
- Posted date:
- 30-11-2022
Who needs a landlord safety certificate? Find out if you need a gas safe engineer to provide a safety inspection for your rental property.
What safety certificates do landlords need to provide?
Being a landlord means you have to take on a host of legal responsibilities. While this can seem daunting or frustrating, they are designed by the Health and Safety Executive to ensure your and your tenants' safety.
Before prospective tenants enter your rental property, you must carry out a range of fire safety checks. All the documentation for these safety checks must also be retained and given to your tenant when they arrive.
Tenants can prosecute their landlords if they fail to provide the complete range of landlord gas safety certificates, electrical safety certificates and the property's energy performance certificates (EPC), either when new tenants move into their property or when existing tenants undergo a tenancy renewal.
By not providing the requisite landlord certificates, these landlords are disregarding their legal obligations and putting their tenants in significant and unnecessary danger, not to mention increasing their landlord insurance premiums.
What Is A Landlord Gas Safety Certificate?
One of the most enforced certificates landlords need is the gas safety certificate. Having a valid certificate proves your own gas appliances, flues, heating systems and chimneys are safe to use and that you have adequate ventilation from a gas safety standpoint.
These gas safety certificates are also known as "CORGI Performa" or "CP12" certificates. The alternate names come from the days when CORGI themselves were responsible for providing landlord gas safety records for the private rented sector.
ABOUT THE GAS SAFETY CERTIFICATE
Again, providing your tenants with a reliable gas safety certificate is one of the most important legal obligations you must adhere to as a landlord.
Ensuring that your gas appliances, flues, chimneys and other fittings have been checked by a Gas Safe registered engineer within the past 12 months guarantees your tenant's safety.
As a landlord, it is your legal responsibility to ensure your property is safe to inhabit.
While CORGI was once the organisation in charge of ensuring tenant safety, this obligation now falls to the Gas Safety register.
This has been the case since 2009, with the register also offering a comprehensive list of all the qualified gas engineers and accredited energy assessors in the UK. Only these registered professionals can perform installation, maintenance and repair work on gas appliances and provide official landlord gas safety certificates.
One of the easiest ways to arrange for permanent fixtures and portable appliances to be tested by qualified engineers is to take out a gas service contract on an annual basis. Not only will this provide you with the necessary safety certificates, but it will also ensure your gas appliances remain in good condition.
Well-maintained appliances typically last much longer, and having a yearly gas service contract allows you to easily renew your annual gas safety checks for the following year.
An annual service contract guarantees tenants peace of mind when living in rented properties. It shows you take your safety responsibilities seriously as a landlord. Additionally, you can access professional boiler services more quickly when an issue arises with dedicated engineer cover.
Your tenants also have the opportunity to contact your chosen gas, plumbing or boiler specialist service, ensuring gas emergencies are remedied quickly with minimal damage to your property.
How long does a gas safety certificate last?
A landlord's gas safety certificate, CORGI Performa or CP12, will last a total of 12 months. When the last certificate the landlord receives expires, they must provide tenants with an up-to-date copy within 28 days.
This is the same for new tenants since they must be provided with a landlord gas safety certificate either as soon as they move in or within 28 days of moving into the landlord's property.
DO I NEED TO GIVE NOTICE TO MY TENANTS TO ACCESS THE PROPERTY?
It is a legal requirement that landlords provide their tenants with 24-hour's notice before entering the rented property.
The tenants must also consent to the chosen gas engineer accessing the property to perform their gas safety checks.
Therefore, landlords must try to agree on a flexible time and date when booking gas safety inspections in case their tenants cannot agree to the time they specify.
It is unlikely that a tenant will refuse to allow the gas engineers into the property, as it benefits their health and well-being.
However, if a tenant does refuse, this does not relieve the landlord of their safety obligations. Landlords must demonstrate that they have taken all reasonable steps to comply with their legal obligations.
The first step in dealing with a tenant who refuses a gas inspection is for the landlord to write to them and explain why they need to grant access to the property and describe what the gas inspection entails.
If this does not work, the landlord may approach their local council or local authority, which will communicate with the tenants on their behalf. Should all else fail, the landlord may choose to evict their tenant or apply for a court injunction to gain access to the property.
What Does An Annual Gas Safety Inspection Involve?
During a gas safety inspection, a Gas Safe registered engineer will check all gas appliances, cookers, open fires, wood burners and gas boilers to ensure they are in good condition and safe to use.
The engineer will also inspect any flues, chimneys and relevant pipework or water pipes on the property.
These checks include the following:
Ensuring gas and solid-fuel-burning appliances work as per the manufacturer's instructions and all safety devices, fire extinguishers, smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms are working.
Checking all connections to the gas supply, ensuring appliances are fitted correctly, and the gas is burning properly.
Ensuring the property has enough ventilation, per the health regulations, to allow the gas to burn adequately.
Inspecting the draw on flues and chimneys to ensure effective removal of toxic fumes from burnt gas as per the fire regulations.
Checking all pipework is in a safe condition and is not leaking.
Generating a Legionella risk assessment and suggesting energy-saving improvements.
These checks are more comprehensive than a typical gas boiler service. Still, landlords must also arrange to have their gas boilers serviced once per year and have any remedial work, urgent repairs or checks carried out by a Gas Safe registered boiler engineer.
What Is The Penalty For Not Having A Gas Safety Certificate?
Landlords who do not have a gas safety certificate to present to their tenants will face a fine of up to £6,000 or six months in prison, besides putting the lives of their tenants at risk.
Additionally, without an appropriate certificate, your tenants will have no reason to leave your property if something should go wrong. Therefore, it's always best to keep your tenants informed with the relevant gas safety certificates.
Do you require a landlord safety certificate for your rental property? Contact our Gas Safe engineers today.