Changes from 1 April 2009
From 1 April 2009, Corgi registered plumbers will no longer be able to carry out gas safety checks. Only “Gas Safe Register” plumbers will be able to carry out the task. Any certificate produced prior to 1 April 2009 will remain valid until it expires.

Offence
It is an offence for landlords to fail to have gas safety checks carried out within 12 months of the last inspection [r36(3)].

Who should carry out the checks?
Only certain “Gas Safe Register” gas engineers should carry out gas safety checks.

How does the landlord know if a Gas safety register engineer is legally able to carry out a gas safety check?
[amember_protect levels='keywee' user_action='error' user_error='amember_error_default_user' visitor_action='error' visitor_error='amember_error_default_guest']Landlords must look at the reverse side of the Gas Safe Register Card carried by the engineer to see what work the engineer is allowed to do. The licence number is easily verified on the website https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/ or by phone and they will get back to you with confirmation of the engineer’s name.

How will the landlord know if the card relates to that engineer?
The card will carry the engineers photograph.

Gas Safe Register registration
Landlords should make sure that the engineer has an up-to-date Gas Safe Register registration. The engineer licence will expire one year after the date from your business registration or before that date if the competencies expire. If you think your engineer is not registered, just call 0800 408 5500 or let them know via their website.

Giving a copy of the record to the tenant
The landlord must provide a copy of the gas safety record to existing tenants within 28 days of the check being carried out. All new tenants must be given a copy of the gas safety record before they move in. [r36(6)(a) & (b)]. In addition, the record (or copy), shall be made available upon request and upon reasonable notice for the inspection of any person in lawful occupation of relevant premises who may be affected by the use or operation of any appliance to which the record relates. [r36(5)].

Record must be complete
The landlord must make sure that the engineer has fully completed the record. Many engineers fail to complete the form properly thus risking problems for the landlord. [r36(3)(c)].

Keep the records
Landlords must keep the gas safety records available for inspection for a period of two years. [r36(3)(c)].

Gas cookers
A stability bracket should be fitted to all cookers to prevent the cooker from tipping forward.

Servicing of gas appliance
Landlords would be well advised to have their gas appliance serviced regularly. The law does not specify the frequency of servicing but does require that all gas appliances are properly “maintained”.

Tenants own appliances
You would be wise to have a safety check carried out on tenants fixtures because section 4 Defective Premises Act 1927 requires landlords to ensure “all fixtures” are safe. However the duty under the gas safety regulations only extends to any gas appliance other than an appliance which the tenant is entitled to remove from the relevant premises. However, the pipework would still need to be tested. [r36(1)]. For a definition as to what fixtures a tenant is entitled to remove and a detailed analysis of s4 Defective Premises Act 1927, see the article in residential renting, March / April 2006, pages 7 – 9.

Public Liability Insurance
Landlords should ask the engineer to produce evidence of their public liability insurance. Whilst Gas Safe Register do try to encourage registered engineers to hold public liability insurance, Gas Safety Register do not require their registered engineers to hold public liability insurance and many are not insured!

What is the penalty if a landlord installs a gas appliance himself?
A number of landlords have been committed to prison.

What happens if the engineer finds that the appliances are defective?
The engineer should record the fact on the safety record and if the appliance is dangerous – he should disconnect the appliance. A number of incompetent engineers simply fail to provide a safety record at all if the appliances are found to be unsafe – this is totally unacceptable practice and should be reported to Gas Safe Register.

A “failure”
A failure means that the appliance itself is unsafe and not that the appliance or the fire surround is simply not up to current standards.

I have just fitted a new boiler, do I need to have a gas safety certificate?
A landlord must ensure that each appliance and flue to which the duty extends is checked for safety within 12 months of being installed. [r36(3)(a)].[/amember_protect]

We have researched this and can find no law that states such a thing.

We have spoken today with the HSE and gas safe register help-line and they are not aware of any such requirement. The only requirement for their purposes is that the cooker is safe.

The only thing that we can think of regarding the confusion is where a lid is mentioned in the The Gas Cooking Appliances (Safety) Regulations 1989. In these regulations, it states [amember_protect levels='keywee' user_action='error' user_error='amember_error_default_user' visitor_action='error' visitor_error='amember_error_default_guest']under regulation 4 (Condition of appliances when in normal use):

” (i) in the case of an appliance fitted with a shut down lid, any device which is designed to shut off automatically the supply of gas to every burner comprised in the hot-plate when the lid is shut down operates to ensure that the supply of gas intended to be controlled by the device is promptly and safely shut off;”

However, this only refers to if the cooker has a shut down lid. It is not requiring there to be one.

I am therefore of the opinion that this is a simple rumour with no substance.

If any one hears any different, I would be interested to know what Act of Parliament people state a lid is required under.[/amember_protect]

The regulations require landlords to have a gas safety certificate at no more than 12 monthly intervals

Do I need a gas safety certificate on a newly installed boiler?

[amember_protect levels='keywee' user_action='error' user_error='amember_error_default_user' visitor_action='error' visitor_error='amember_error_default_guest']No, r36(3)(a) states that an appliance only needs testing within 12 months from installation.

“36(3)(a) ensure that each appliance and flue to which that duty extends is checked for safety within 12 months of being installed and at intervals of not more than 12 months since it was last checked for safety (whether such check was made pursuant to these Regulations or not);”

[/amember_protect]

02 February, 2009

On 8 September 2008, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) awarded a new 10 year contract to Capita Group plc to provide a new registration scheme for gas installers. This will begin on 1 April 2009 and will, with immediate effect, replace the current CORGI system that is currently in place. These changes will be of significance to landlords, tenants and the general public alike.

What are the new changes?

From April 2009, the Capita Gas Safe Register will be the only gas installer registration scheme approved by the HSE under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. All installers (including those used by landlords) wanting to undertake domestic gas work will need to be registered with the scheme in order to be able to lawfully carry out any work on both gas fittings and appliances in a property.

For the period between January 2009 and April 2009, CORGI will continue to operate the registration scheme with an immediate change to the Capita format on 1 April. Until this date, gas installers should continue to comply with the full terms of their existing gas registration under CORGI. There will be no period of ‘dual-running’ between both forms; any engineer who is not registered with the Capita system before April will not be able to work on gas appliances and installations until they become registered.

What is the Gas Safe Register?

The Gas Safe Register opened on 19 January 2009 for currently registered installers to enrol in advance and will hold an up-to-date register of gas installers who are qualified to install and/or repair gas fittings and appliances. There will be processes in place to check the competence of registered engineers, inspect their work and deal with complaints about unsafe work being carried out. The operation of this new Register will be overseen by the HSE as the regulator for gas safety.

New identity cards will be issued to all engineers following valid registration and gas consumers will be encouraged through publicity in the media to ask to see these instead of the old CORGI documents.

What do the changes mean for landlords?

As stated previously, under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use)Regulations 1998, landlords are required to ensure that all gas appliances in each of their properties are in a safe and fully working order. These checks are to be undertaken at least on an annual basis. In order for this work to be carried out later in the year, landlords should ensure that all current and future gas engineers are registered with Capita in order to meet their legal obligations.

Landlords may also wish to consider how to make tenants and other stakeholders aware of these impending changes in order to facilitate the repair and maintenance of gas installations. One of the key ways that this can be achieved is through landlords raising awareness of these changes themselves. Although Capita intend to establish a marketing plan to raise consumer awareness of registered installers and the importance of gas registration, it may well be the case that some tenants may not be conscious of these changes. An example of this may be that entry may be refused to a Capita registered gas engineer after April 1 2009 because they are not CORGI affiliated.

Additionally, Capita will be creating a new gas safety brand, with the aim of championing gas safety as a hallmark for the protection of consumers from unsafe work and promoting the need for consumers to use only registered businesses and engineers. On a more practical level, Capita also intend to offer companies a ‘marketing toolkit’ with the new logo included to help with creating stationery and advertising. They are also said to be in discussions with suppliers of van stickers to negotiate discounted rates for relevant vehicles to be altered accordingly.

What other steps can I take to deal with these changes?

Given that a landlord has considerable legal obligations in relation to the safety standards of gas installations and appliances in their properties, the changes to the gas registration scheme are of the utmost importance. It is imperative that all are up to speed and complaint with the new system by April 2009.

Where can I find more information?

The Gas safety Register has a website http://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/