Tenants could be at risk – landlords aren’t doing enough to enforce gas safety.
New research completed by the Gas Safe Register found that 75% of those surveyed had not been presented with an up-to-date Landlords gas safety record, which is a legal requirement by law for a landlord to adhere to.
Paul Johnston, chief executive of Gas Safe Register, said:
“What we are seeing is both an alarming number of landlords who are failing to comply with the law and tenants who do not realise it is their legal right to see a valid gas safety record. Faulty gas appliances can lead to CO poisoning, which can kill quickly, and it is therefore imperative that landlords take their responsibilities to keep tenants safe seriously”.
It’s unknown exactly why so many landlords aren’t adhering to these rules, but there are several contributing factors that could play a role. We recently looked into how landlords are often confused by what’s required of them when carrying out electrical testing, so it’s likely that landlords are also confused by this process as well.
We talked to the NLA (National Landlord’s association) in our electrical blog and they highlighted that often the problem is attributed to many ‘accidental’ landlords entering the system without the knowledge needed to adhere to law.
Speaking to the Gas Safe Register, Richard Price of the NLA said: “By law, landlords must ensure they carry out annual gas safety checks using Gas Safe registered engineers. The gas safety record should then be passed on to the tenant. In addition, it is good practice to install carbon monoxide detectors to warn tenants of any leak, although this is no substitute for the mandatory checks.”
Gas safety is an essential process for everyone, not just landlords. Gas can kill, and its safety is of the utmost importance.
Anybody interested in learning more about gas safety is encouraged to visit the Gas Safe Register’s website for more information.
