Why a Gas Safety Certificate is Essential for Your Home or Business
A golden rule regarding heating systems maintenance is that everyone should have all of their gas appliances regularly checked by a Gas Safe registered engineer. The engineer may provide you with a document after carrying out the necessary checks. This document is called a Gas Safety Certificate or Record. It’s always reassuring to know exactly what this document is if you are handed it, as well as understanding the importance of the document's content.
At Royale Boilers, all of our engineers are Gas Safe Registered. As such, we thought this would be a good time for us to explain what exactly is a Gas Safety Certificate in our own terms.
What is a Gas Safety Certificate?
The Gas Safety Certificate was brought in due to the increased demands of gas appliances in the UK home and the amount of unsafe gas installations. The manufacturers of gas boilers, and the regulatory board, came together to establish the Council for Registered Gas Installers (CORGI). However, it was later replaced by the Gas Safe Register, which is the only official body of gas safety in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man, Jersey, and Guernsey. It is the governing body for the safe installation of gas boilers and heating systems.
A Gas Safety Certificate is a sign-off documentation verified by a Gas Safe Registered engineer. The document is issued after a safety gas check or an installation is conducted by the qualified engineer. It shows that a safety check or gas installation meets with the Gas Safe standard. The documentation provided will often depend on the type of work the engineer has undertaken, whether it was a service or a safety check.
Do I Need a Gas Safety Certificate?
If You’re a Homeowner
You’re not legally required to have a Gas Safety Certificate. However, you should still get all your gas appliances checked and serviced every year by a Gas Safe registered engineer. You have the right to ask your engineer to give you access to any documents to show your gas safety checks, or any other gas work for that matter, that has been completed correctly. In fact, it’s good practice for your engineer to provide you with some form of records, even if it’s not as detailed as a Landlord’s Gas Safety Certificate or Record.
If You’re a Landlord
It is required by law for all gas businesses to be on the Gas Safe Register, but it’s not a legal requirement for them to provide a Gas Safety Certificate or Record when they visit. There’s one only exception to this however, and that’s if you’re a landlord.
As a landlord, you are letting a property to tenants. It is a legal duty to make sure the gas appliances owned by you are safe to use for your tenants. Furthermore, you’re required by law to have a Gas Safe registered engineer perform a gas safety check every year on all gas appliances.
You’ll receive a copy of a Gas Safety Certificate for your own records. You will also need to provide a copy to your tenants if they ask for it. In the Gas Safety Certificate, you should find the following information:
- A description of each appliance checked.
- Details of the engineer who did the checks, their signature, and the date of the check.
- The landlord’s name and the property address.
- Information on any safety defects identified and what actions are needed to fix them.
- Results of the safety checks carried out on each gas appliance.
Unchecked and badly maintained gas appliances can cause a potential risk to your tenant’s safety and health such as the risk of fires, explosions, and carbon monoxide poisoning.
Contact Royale Boilers
Get your Gas Safety checks carried out by a team of qualified and certified Gas Safe registered engineers like Royale Boilers. A gas safety inspection carried out by us helps to ensure that your property is safe and can help identify early signs of possible safety defects or gas leaks.
To arrange a professional safety inspection with Royale Boilers or if you require more information, please contact us today.
