A landlord's duty

The duties of a landlord are set out in regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. The ongoing education of landlords is always needed, and with your assistance we can help to keep them informed.

Gas appliances owned by a landlord are required to be 'maintained' in a safe condition. In addition to this, all relevant appliances must be checked for safety at intervals of no longer than 12 months.

Many landlords still believe that a landlord’s gas safety check is considered to also be a service of that gas appliance, but this is not the case. In order to meet the ongoing maintenance element of the legislative requirement (reg. 36 GSIUR), landlords need to ensure that appliances are serviced as well as checked for safety.

Tough action

Tenants who refuse to allow engineers into their homes to carry out annual gas safety checks and services are being warned that legal action could be taken against them.

Checks are carried out at no cost to the tenant, yet a minority of tenants continue to ignore appointments or even refuse engineers access to their homes.

Landlords can follow the letter of the law, and force entry to ensure essential gas works are carried out.