CHANGES TO GAS REGULATIONS

With effect from 1 April 2009, the CORGI Gas Register will be replaced by the Gas Safety Register and this will be the official industry stamp for Gas Safety.

The Health and Safety Executive who are responsible for regulating Gas Safety in Great Britain will oversee the Gas Safety Register.

It is anticipated that the new register will provide enhanced levels of service and clearly written rules of registration. There will be new services and benefits designed to improve the registration scheme and promote Gas Safety.

As the CORGI register ends on 31 March it will become a legal requirement that all gas workers will need to be registered with the new Gas Safety Register from the beginning of April.

For residential homeowners, it is important that from 1 April only those Gas Engineers registered on the Gas Safety Register should carry out work on gas appliances or installations within the home.

If you are a landlord letting out property it is your legal responsibility to ensure the safety of your tenants. Therefore all gas appliances must have a safety check carried out every twelve months by a Gas Safety registered engineer. You must give your tenant a record of that safety check within 28 days, or to any new tenant before they move into the property. It is your responsibility as a landlord to keep a copy of that safety check for two years.

If you are engaging the services of a letting agent you need to check with your letting agent the extent of their responsibilities for managing the gas duty and responsibilities.

The legislation for landlords in the residential property area can often be overwhelming for landlords and landlords are well advised to seek advice from their solicitor about their liabilities under the legislation which may affect them.

9 March 2009

Disclaimer

The contents of this article are for the purposes of general awareness only.  They do not purport to constitute legal or professional advice.  The law may have changed since this article was published.  Readers should not act on the basis of the information included and should take appropriate professional advice upon their own particular circumstances.