INFORMATION FOR TENANTS
Make sure your landlord is complying with the law
Your landlord has specific legal responsibilities when it comes to
gas safety. Even if a property is only rented for a short
time, like holiday accommodation, the Gas Safety
(Installation and Use) Regulations require your landlord to:
- Maintain pipework, appliances and flues provided for your use
in a safe condition.
- Carry out a 12 monthly gas safety check on each gas
appliance/flue. A gas safety check will make sure gas
fittings and appliances are safe to use.
- Provide you with a record of the annual gas safety check within
28 days of the check being completed or if you’re a new tenant
before you move in. If a property or room is hired out
for less than 28 days at a time, it is also permissible for
your landlord to display a copy of the current Landlords Gas
Safety Record in a prominent position within the
property.
For more information on what to expect from your landlord if you
rent a room or holiday accommodation for a short period
of time download our short term lets
factsheet.
What is a gas safety check?
Faulty gas appliances
and fittings and blocked flues can put you at risk of gas
leaks, fires, explosions and carbon monoxide poisoning. A gas
safety check will make sure gas fittings and appliances are safe to
use. These checks include;
- Checking the flue or chimney to make
sure the products of combustion (fumes) are being safely removed to
outside.
- Checking there is an adequate supply
of fresh air so the gas burns properly.
- Checking the appliance is burning
the gas properly.
- Checking all safety devices are
working properly and shutting the appliance off if a fault
occurs.
If a
Gas Safe registered engineer visits you to safety check your
appliances, it is in the interests of your safety to let them into
the property. Always ask to see their Gas
Safe Register ID card before letting them in.
What is a gas safety record?
If you are renting a property from a private landlord, from the
council, a housing association or any other landlord, ask for a
copy of the gas
safety record.
When a Gas Safe registered engineer does a gas safety check in your
home, using a form they will write down details of the checks that
they carried out. This form is a gas safety record. It will list
each of the appliances and other gas fittings they checked.
Your landlord must give you a record of the annual gas safety
check within 28 days of the check being completed or if you’re a
new tenant before you move in.
What if I own the gas appliances in my rented property?
If you own the gas appliances in your rented property, your
landlord is not responsible for getting them safety checked, you
are. But, your landlord may still be responsible for the
maintenance of the gas pipe work and any chimney or flue that
serves your appliances. In which case, you and your landlord should
arrange the gas safety check together.
What to do if you think your landlord isn’t gas safe
If you do not have a copy of the current record for your
property, you are entitled to ask your landlord for a copy. If your
landlord refuses, you can complain to the Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) via the HSE
website. Failure to follow gas safety requirements is a
criminal offence and the HSE can issue a formal caution and may
prosecute your landlord.
Gas emergencies in a rented property
Make sure you know what to do in a gas
emergency. Knowing the signs of
danger and
carbon monoxide poisoning could save your life.
Ask your landlord to show you how to turn off the gas supply if
there is a gas leak. If you smell gas, call the 24 hour emergency
gas service for your area:
- Great Britain: 0800 111 999
- Guernsey: 01481 749000
- Isle of Man: 01624 644 444
- Northern Ireland: 0800 002 001