Gas Safe – Advice and suspension of Safety inspections

Gas Safe – Advice and suspension of Safety inspections

11:52 AM, 24th March 2020, About 5 years ago 8

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As of the evening of 23rd March, Gas Safe expect to suspend Gas Safety inspections until they have more guidance.

“We anticipate that we will need to continue, but will confirm this soon, once we the guidance from Cabinet Office and HSE on what they need from the industry to support the nation. Click Here

“We had already suspended all of our Inspection Events for the time being, and are looking at suitable alternatives to attending an event in person. This work will continue, and we will communicate details of these as soon as they have been decided.

The HSE is currently seeking guidance from Cabinet Office on what gas engineering services and scenarios are considered essential for the next 3 weeks; for example, attending emergency breakdown, versus installing a new appliance. As soon as more definitive guidance is available, we will publish this.”

COVID-19: Advice for landlords   

UPDATE 23 March 2020 

We are aware that the new restrictions announced by the UK Prime Minister on leaving your own home and avoidance of any social contact will reduce the ability for landlords to arrange annual safety checks. We are working with the HSE to provide new guidance specific to this 3-week period.

Landlords have a legal duty to repair and maintain gas pipework, flues and appliances in a safe condition, to ensure an annual gas safety check on each appliance and flue, and to keep a record of each safety check. 

If you anticipate difficulties in gaining access as the COVID-19 situation progresses, you have the flexibility to carry out annual gas safety checks two months before the deadline date. Landlords can have the annual gas safety checks at their properties carried out any time from 10 to 12 calendar months after the previous check and still retain the original deadline date as if the check had been carried out exactly 12 months after the previous check.   

You are encouraged to arrange your annual gas safety checks as early as possible, as a contingency against tenants being in self-isolation for a period of 14days (in line with current guidelines), or gas engineers being unavailable due to illness. The two-month period to carry out annual gas safety checks should provide adequate resilience in most situations. 

In the event you are unable to gain access to the propertye.g. persistent refusal of access due to vulnerable tenants self-isolating, you will be expected to be able to demonstrate that you took reasonable steps to comply with the law. This will need to include records of communication with the tenant and details of your engineers attempts to gain access. 


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Gunga Din

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12:14 PM, 24th March 2020, About 5 years ago

"checks at their properties carried out any time from 10 to 12 calendar months after the previous check and still retain the original deadline date"

Some flexibility has been allowed (HSE site) for a while now (not two months though) so it can work like an MoT. However I've yet to find a gas engineer willing to annotate the form accordingly. The forms I've seen don't have the spaces to indicate anything other than the next inspection being due 12 months from the one just done.

I realise things are exceptional at the moment, but the only way to take advantage of the MoT-like flexibility is to keep a separate record of all the dates. Pity the forms don't reflect it.

JC

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17:29 PM, 24th March 2020, About 5 years ago

Quick question, I had one of my gas safety cert done 2 weeks ago but the gas engineer did not look at the previous certificate which was with the tenant who did not volunteer to show the previous gas safety certificate which was only due in 2 months time (May 2020). So the gas safety certificate issued states the next check is due 12 months from the day he checked it and not the supposedly 14 months (May 2021). He told me that because the previous certificate was not shown to him at the time, he is no longer able to re-issue another gas safety cert.

What can I do to get the 14 months gas check reinstated?

Rob Crawford

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18:41 PM, 24th March 2020, About 5 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Gunga Din at 24/03/2020 - 12:14My Gas Safe engineer carry's over the date plus one year from the last check date if carried out within two months before the expiry date. The form does not dictate the rules. If I was you I would get a new engineer. One that is willing to keep upto date on legislation and what is stated by Gas Safe. Of course he needs evidence of the date of the last check.

wanda wang

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21:12 PM, 24th March 2020, About 5 years ago

can Gas engineer still working during this lock down? what happen if you can't get someone to do it during this time and you pass the 12 month your deadline date?

Old Mrs Landlord

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7:03 AM, 25th March 2020, About 5 years ago

Reply to the comment left by wanda wang at 24/03/2020 - 21:12
Yes Wanda, that's what we'd all like to know but there's a limit to how many issues the government can deal with at once so presumably they are prioritising the most urgent. By the time the dust has settled and the Covid 19 episode is history I expect the number of private landlords will be greatly reduced. If the powers that be continue the current policy of scapegoating us for all their political mismanagement and prosecute us for conditions not of our making and outside our control there will be only one or two corporate build-to-rent companies and the inevitable criminal few individuals left in the PRS sector I fear.

Michael Bond

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10:44 AM, 25th March 2020, About 5 years ago

The reference to landlords being able to have gas checks done 2 months ahead of the due date is a typical petty bureaucrat's red herring. If they had told me 6 weeks ago that it would now be difficult/ impossible to get gas checks done I would have arranged to have them done 2 months early. But they didn't so I didn't. Now what?

Jack Craven

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14:38 PM, 25th March 2020, About 5 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Jun at 24/03/2020 - 17:29
Why did you not show your landlords copy to the engineer ?

Mike

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23:12 PM, 25th March 2020, About 5 years ago

Might be safe to shut down a boiler if the certificate runs out, just hand tenants some electric fan heaters and a kettle for hot water, a bucket and a jug after all we are at war with Corona, things cannot be normal, it's an emergency , when the fact is we landlords cannot evict tenants during this testing times. Indeed, that is how it is tough for all, and fair for all.

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