Gas safety check

[imoment]

The lettings agency has said they have to do a gas safety check but I'm at risk and it doesn't expire for another month.

They seem to say even if I'm self isolating that it needs to be carried out else I have all responsibility.

Is this right? I want to at least delay it until contract tracing is up and running and iv'e still got 3 weeks before it expires.

It's for your own safety, and the landlord is legally obliged to have it carried out.

Email the lettings agency to ask the company who will do the check what precautions the person will take. Make sure the reply is very specific about the PPE they will wear, if they need to use their bare hands will they bring sanitizer, and ask them what they need access to in the property.

Once you have the information, you can assess what the impact on you might be. It's quite likely that by the time you have an answer, you and they can agree a date which is after your 3 weeks is up and before the safety check is due.

Perhaps the risk of your gas exploding is higher than the risk of your contracting covid19.

They probably don't want to leave it until the last minute - what happens if the checks fail and there is work needed to make it safe? It would probably render their insurance invalid.

Some info here.

“The law is flexible and where it is not possible to carry out a gas safety check, it will normally be enough to show that you took reasonable steps to do so. In the event you are unable to gain access to the property, e.g. refusal of access due to tenants self-isolating, or if you are unable to engage a registered gas engineer to carry out the work due to a shortage of available engineers, you will be expected to demonstrate that you took reasonable steps to comply with the law. This should include records of communication with the tenant and details of your engineer’s attempts to gain access. You should seek to arrange the safety check as soon as all parties are available“

www.gassaferegister.co.uk/help-and-advice/covid-19-advice-and-guidance/landlords/

www.gassaferegister.co.uk/help-and-advice/covid-19-advice-and-guidance/

Coronavirus: Shielding tenants 'bullied' over gas safety checks www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-52372535

Bastard landlords, trying to make sure your gas supply doesn't explode and kill you in your sleep, or slowly poison you with carbon monoxide.

But is it really that necessary? Loads of owner O don't get it checked every year.

It's not the landlord insisting on it it's the lettings agency who will no doubt be getting a kickback

It's a legal requirement OP, for your safety and other houses near you. As a PP said, find out what safety measures they will take, while shielding from the virus is important, so is the gas check. The landlord can be fined I believe if it's not done.

It is necessary.
Landlords have to have it because they would be responsible for your safety when it comes to this.
Owners? Well it's their own lives.
Plus landlord insurance may become invalid. I am sure homeowner's insurance has something about annual checks usually too.

I had mine done during lockdown, it’s important.

Yes it's a necessity. It's a legal requirement and it's for your safety. I'd definitely let them do it. Just stay away from them whilst there are there. Clean down after they've been and wear a mask if you can. Ask them to wear one too. Trust me, they probably aren't keen to be going into other peoples houses either, but they do it because it's important.

It's illegal for landlords not to do a gas safety check, there's no such law for homeowners.

Clean down after they've been and wear a mask if you can

To make it more effective, they should be the ones wearing mask

It's a legal requirement. Dodgy gas can explode and kill not just you but others in the block, carbon monoxide leaks can also kill you. FFS, this is for your own safety. You can leave the door unlocked for the inspector and socially distance from him or her whilst he or she carries out the inspection.

If we implement contact tracking and tracing it won't be up and running in any meaningful way in 3 weeks. And if you're self-isolating that's only needed for 7 days.

It's not the landlord insisting on it it's the lettings agency who will no doubt be getting a kickback

It's the lettings agent actual job to ensure on the landlords behalf that the law is complied with, of course he's not getting a kickback, why on earth would you think that?

Maybe you should find out a bit more about the legislation that's for your own protection.

Local to me someone ( homeowner) delayed boiler service on a 3 year old house because of Covid-19. Developed Gas leak house exploded like a bomb had gone off, gas leaked into sewers causing 3 manhole covers to explode. Fortunately no one was home and as it was evening no one was in the street so there were no injuries. The house quite literally burned to the ground. Even a relatively new boiler can develop a problem.

But is it really that necessary?

As a landlord yes it’s LEGALLY necessarily, landlord have to be flexible however only 2 months prior to the service deadline date (12 months from date of last has service)

If you don’t allow access you can be taken to court and in breach of your tenancy.

Have a look at the gas safe website which states it’s a legal requirement

www.gassaferegister.co.uk/help-and-advice/renting-a-property/information-for-landlords/

And as your gas service expires in 3 weeks you don’t meet the criteria for them to be flexible.

The landlord can be fined I believe if it's not done.

In most cases the landlord won’t be fined if they’ve take reasonable steps, it will
Be the OP, and the current costs of no access to the tenant is £394 set by the courts.

At risk

Does that mean shielding as in got a letter?

The gas safety check needs to be done. It’s quick, you don’t need to be in the same room.

This has been asked many times - Gas Safe have information on their website. www.gassaferegister.co.uk/help-and-advice/covid-19-advice-and-guidance/

You need to use a bit of commonsense - if your boiler is newish, has been maintained, you have had a previous gas check in that property and you are shielding with a letter then yes you aren't being difficult to refuse at the moment.

If you have just moved into the property so you don't know if the boiler has been maintained properly or your landlord has been dodgy around doing repairs, you need to work out how to safely get the boiler checked.

In regards to those saying you don't need to be in the same room when I have my boiler checked they frequently check the flue which runs through another room (don't ask) and check the gas meter which is in a cupboard in yet a different room. That means to do a gas safety check for me they have to go into 3 different rooms.

Hey, so I'm also self isolating for medical reasons and got told the same thing a few weeks back. I begrudgingly accepted a compromise - they came in gloves, face masks, I stayed upstairs and they stayed 2 metres apart from my husband. They did the test and found a massive hole in the boiler! (it was looked at in February so turned up out of the blue). Not ideal that they then had to come back for 8 hours to install a new one and it caused me a massive headache but it was worth it in the end I think! Hope you can also find a compromise that makes you comfortable.

It’s a legal requirement and it’s extremely important, so yes, it’s a necessity. It’s not a good idea to leave it to the last minute.

Are you inn the shielding group? If you are, there is guidance on the .gov site. It says that you should not let anyone into your home or garden, even for things like this. There is too much risk of a workman bringing the virus in.

I had mi e down the first few weeks of lockdown, they came with masks and gloves took 5mins