Residents and their agents must ensure the safety of gas installations, appliances, fittings, and chimneys provided to tenants. In addition, tenants also have certain legal obligations in the field of safety. In the case of residential real estate, landlords (or their agents) are required by law to organize annual gas safety checks by a registered gas safe installer. In addition, a copy of the gas safety certificate London must be provided upon entry. The copy must therefore also be kept by the landlord for 2 years.
There are high fines for non-compliance. Death can lead to the accidental killing of landlords and agents. Thus, non-compliance is a criminal offense and the courts can impose unlimited fines and prison terms. Therefore, it can also invalidate your property insurance and lead to civil damage.
We can conduct inspections on behalf of the landlords by our registered Gas Safe engineers.
Safety regulations for landlords
Landlords must implement a policy that includes:
- Introduction of a system of annual inspections and maintenance of all appliances and chimneys.
- Use only registered Gas Safe engineers for installation, maintenance, and safety checks.
- In addition, keep records of the security audit, keep copies for at least 2 years, and send copies to each tenant within 28 days.
- When releasing, remove all suspicious devices from previous tenants. Give the new tenant (s) a copy of the security check at the entrance. In addition, visually check the installation and devices.
- Work closely with renters to access service, repairs, security checks, and early warnings for faulty equipment. If you are having trouble opening it, document it fully to demonstrate that you have taken all reasonable steps.
- All household appliances must meet the requirements of the General Regulation.
- Water heaters must have built-in thermostats.
- Make sure tenants have emergency instructions and easy access to the gas meter and gas shutoff valve.
Tenants Gas Safety Instructions
It is noteworthy that tenants also bear the obligations imposed on them by security regulations. Landlords must notify tenants in writing and include a clause in the lease.
- Tenants may under no circumstances work independently with installations and equipment.
- Tenants must immediately inform the landlord or management if they know or suspect that the gas system is unsafe. The use of a deliberately unsafe device is a criminal offense.
What is carbon monoxide?
Carbon monoxide is a gas that you should avoid at all costs. This is the same gas that comes from the exhaust pipes of combustion engines and is one of the main by-products of fires. This gas is incredibly dangerous because it does not necessarily require production from any of the previous sources. One of the horrible aspects of carbon monoxide is that you cannot see or smell it, so it can seriously injure or even kill you without your knowledge.
Potential carbon monoxide sources
One of the most common sources of carbon monoxide in the household is the boiler, but water heaters can also emit carbon monoxide. You will also notice that gas stoves and some dryers emit a measurable amount of carbon monoxide. Gas appliances that are in good condition or incorrectly mounted can also leak enough gas to be dangerous. Keep in mind that not all boilers can let gas through.
What type of boiler can leak carbon monoxide?
A typical variety of boilers that can cause carbon monoxide problems is an open chimney boiler. These boilers are usually older types that use indoor air for the combustion process, with newer ones usually having a special air source. Since boilers with an open chimney consume indoor air, the air in one of these boilers cannot remain in the room, otherwise, it will slowly be filled with by-products from the cooking process. As you may have guessed, carbon monoxide is a substance that begins to saturate the air. While boilers with an open chimney usually do not pour carbon monoxide into the air, this happens when there is no ventilation opening, because no air is drawn into the boiler. Since no air enters the boiler, carbon monoxide cannot escape from the chimney and enter the room. Therefore, it is important to maintain and regularly maintain the boiler.
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning
So what are the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning? The disturbing thing about carbon monoxide poisoning is that the symptoms are so contradictory. Effects can vary from person to person and will also depend on the severity of the effect. Some symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning just look like fatigue, so you can blame it on a lack of sleep, others can cause nausea or vomiting. You may even feel like you have a fever or the flu, but you may find yourself feeling unwell. Make sure to watch for symptoms that only occur when you are at home. If you notice that your symptoms stop when you leave the house, or when other people in the house show similar symptoms.