Gas and Elecrical Safety Certificates
Landlord’s Gas Safety Certificate (CP12)
As a landlord, you are responsible for the safety of your tenants. You must ensure that appliances are working correctly and guard against the dangers of carbon monoxide.
Recent high profile prosecutions of Landlords who have breached the gas safety laws have highlighted the issue of tenant safety. Prosecution could result in a maximum penalty of £5000 per offence per appliance.
Notes from Health and Safety Executive
- Gas installers undertaking gas installation and maintenance work must be registered with a body approved by HSE. CAPITA was awarded the contract to provide a new gas installer registration scheme – Gas Safe Register – in Great Britain from April 2009.
- Regulation 36(3)(a) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 states: “A landlord shall ensure that each appliance and flue to which that duty extends is checked for safety within 12 months of being installed and at intervals of not more than 12 months since it was last checked for safety.”
Every rental property that has any sort of gas appliance, whether it be a central heating boiler or a gas stove or even a gas fire, requires a Gas Safety Certificate (CP12). These certificates can only be issued by a technician registered with the Gas Safe Register. The Gas Safe Register superceded CORGI (Council for Registered Gas Installers) as the sole legally recognised gas safety register in the UK on 1st April 2009. Certificates are valid for one year from the date they are issued.
Gas Safety Inspection Certificate (CP12): £70. To order please click here.
Landlord’s Electrical Safety Certificate
Landlord electrical safety certificates are another important part of ensuring the safety of your tenants and being able to prove that you have taken reasonable steps to do so. All electrical certification should be carried out by an electrician who is registered with a national body such as the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installers and Contractors (NICEIC), the National Association of Professional Inspectors and Testers (NAPIT) or ELECSA.
- Electrical Safety Inspection
It is advisable to have a full electrical inspection carried out at least once every five years. This examination investigates the state of the electrical wiring throughout the property and thoroughly checks the safety of the electrical installation. The electrician should issue you with a’ Electrical Safety Inspection Report’ at the end of the examination, which declares the electrical installation as safe.
- Portable Appliance Testing (PAT)
It is also advisable to instruct an electrician to carry out PAT testing on all portable electrical appliances once a year. Portable electrical appliances are defined as any appliances that you supply with the property that can be plugged into the mains electricity (for example lamps, microwaves, portable electric heaters, TV etc). The purpose of the PAT is to ensure that all portable electrical items provided with the property are electrically safe.
