Gas safety for home owners

As a house owner you have a responsibility to yourself and others in your home to ensure that your gas fittings and appliances are safe. It is very important that gas appliances are installed and regularly checked for safety by a CORGI Registered Gas Installer. CORGI recommends that you arrange safety checks each year. This is not enforced but there are around 30 deaths in the UK every year, and hundreds of serious injuries caused by Carbon Monoxide poisoning due to faulty gas appliances and flues. As the house-owner you are responsible to ensure that this is not you or your family.

Use registered installers
Always use a CORGI Registered Installer to carry out your annual check, install a gas appliance or for another reason. CORGI Registered Installers have to undertake high levels of training in order to work with gas. Non-registered installers are breaking the law. If your installer is not registered then you have no guarantee that they have the necessary competencies or gas safety awareness required to carry out the job safely. A significant amount of gas work carried out by non-registered installers has been found to have serious safety defects.

Using a non-registered installer can also jeopardise the validity of your home insurance in the event of an incident caused by a faulty gas appliance (subject to individual conditions set by the insurance company).

Before allowing anyone into your property to carry out gas related work, insist to see their CORGI identity card. The card includes a photograph of your installer and the reverse carries a list of the types of gas work that they are competent to carry out. If you have any queries then you can call the telephone number featured on the card (0870 401 2300).

For your safety and peace of mind, all Shropshire Gas engineers are fully qualified and CORGI registered.

The law

People who do not work directly on gas installations or appliances, but who work in areas where there are implications for gas safety - such as architects, builders and local authorities working with flues and venting - have a general duty of care under civil law. They should refer to the appropriate regulations covering their work.

The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 place specific duties on gas users, installers, suppliers and landlords. For example:

	Anyone carrying out work on gas appliances or fittings as part of their business must be competent and registered with CORGI.
	Only a competent person can carry out work on gas appliances or fittings. Do-it-yourself work on gas appliances or fittings could be dangerous and is likely to be illegal.
	Do not use any gas appliance or fittings you know or suspect to be unsafe. Through CORGI, the Health & Safety Executive has asked all registered installers to disconnect any gas appliance or fittings that are so dangerous as to be a threat to life if they are used.
	Landlords are responsible for making sure that gas fittings and flues are maintained in good order, and gas appliances that they own in their residential premises, and flues, are checked for safety every 12 months. They must also keep a record of the safety checks for at least two years and issue it to existing tenants and any new tenants before they move in.
	Tenants are responsible for the maintenance and safety of appliances they own.

The regulations place a number of restrictions on gas appliances installed in bathrooms, shower rooms and bedrooms that are detailed and prescriptive.

It is illegal to install instantaneous water heaters, which are not room sealed or fitted with a safety device that automatically turns the gas supply off before a dangerous level of poisonous fumes builds up.

Shropshire Gas services and advice meet with current regulations and standards.

Property reports for home owners, buyers and sellers

Most surveyors/solicitors will advise client's to have the installations tested before buying a property. Shropshire Gas engineers carry out gas safety inspections and certification for home owners and prospective purchasers. The procedure and certificate is in the same statutory form as is used for landlord's certification and includes inspection of all gas appliances, meter and visible pipework to confirm compliance with regulations and safe operation.

Our safety inspection will detail:

	The date the appliance or flue was examined and the address where the appliance is installed.
	The prospective purchasers details (name and address).
	Description and location of the appliances and/or flue.
	Recognition of and recording of any defects.
	The name and signature of the gas operative and the CORGI registration number of the engineer of their employer.

We will carry out the following checks to ensure the appliance is safe to use:

	Appliance operating pressure or heat input, or where necessary both.
	Correct operation of safety devices.
	Ensure adequate ventilation is available where required.
	Visual examination of the flue system.
	Where applicable, results of a flue flow test.
	Where applicable, results of a spillage test.
	Ensure flue termination is satisfactory.
	The appliance is safe to use.

On completion of the above safety checks our Shropshire Gas engineer will accurately detail the findings on the Landlord/Homeowner Gas Safety Record. This creates a certificate, which is a useful tool for sellers as it removes any doubt a purchaser may have about the on-going suitability of the gas installation.

Every effort is made to ensure the information provided on this site is accurate and up-to-date, but no legal responsibility is accepted for any errors, omissions or statements made.

Contact us today

For free, independent advice and a no obligation survey and quotation, contact us on 01630 656161 or email service@shropshiregas.com

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