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Good Landlord Guide Part 2 - Gas Safety

What are the responsibilities of a landlord?

A landlord is legally responsible for the safety of the tenant.

The landlord is responsible for:-

• Repairing and maintaining gas pipework, flues and appliances
• Ensuring that an annual gas safety check is carried out on each appliance and flue
• Keeping a record of each safety check

What happens if a landlord doesn't do a gas safety check?

Penalties for non-compliance of gas safety regulations can be up to £6000 for each office or 6 months in jail. If a tenant dies whilst staying in your property due to negligence, then there is even a possibility of being prosecuted for manslaughter, which can lead to a longer sentence.

What if a landlord cannot access a property to carry out an inspection?

If a tenant refuses to grant the landlord access to the property, then they must show that they have taken all the reasonable steps to comply with the law. This to include repeating attempt to carry out the checks and writing to the tenant to explain that this is a legal requirement for their safety. Keep a record of all action taken. A landlord may need to consider apply to Court for an Injunction forcing the tenant to allow entry.

When should a landlord produce a gas safety certificate?

Before the start of a new tenancy a landlord must provide the tenant with a current gas safety record. The record is valid for 12 months from the date of the check, so if a new tenancy begins during the 12 months then the current record can be given to the tenant.

Records should be kept by the landlord for a period of 2 years.

What if the landlord has not provided the tenant with the gas safety certificate?

Until recently, the failure to provide a tenant with a valid gas safety certificate at the outset of the tenancy, meant that they could not issue a s21 notice for possession.

The position now is that a gas safety certificate may be issued late, provided it is served before the s21 notice.

The difficulty comes where there was no valid gas safety certificate at the time the tenancy commenced

Finally, ensure that it is a Gas Safe registered and qualified engineer that is carrying out gas work or safety checks.

For more information contact Samantha Abdoollah in our Business Dispute Resolution department via email or phone on 01254 222456. Alternatively send any question through to Forbes Solicitors via our online Contact Form.

Learn more about our Business Dispute Resolution department here

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