Gas engineers and landlords - keeping tenants safe and landlords legal

If you are entering the gas industry, you may automatically assume that you will end up working for one of the large national firms, or start your own business serving the residential market.

What is important to remember is that there are plenty of other markets where your skills are needed. For example, the buy to let market is massive and continuing to grow. According to recent figures from think-tank ResPublica, 22% of households rent from private landlords in the UK. In 2014, one in five homes were owned by landlords, with approximately two million people owning and renting out property.

And every single one of these landlords have certain legal responsibilities when it comes to safeguarding their properties and the tenants who live in them.

By law, a landlord must:

• 1. Make sure that gas pipework, flues and appliances are in a safe condition
• 2. Ensure that an annual gas safety check is carried out on each flue and appliance (permanent and portable)
• 3. Keep a record of all gas safety checks

This annual gas safety check will be required for any gas appliance that the landlord owns and provides for the tenants’ use. If the tenant brings their own gas appliance into the home, the landlord is not responsible for the item itself but is required to include any associated installation and pipework into the annual check.

Once the check has been carried out, the landlord must provide a copy of the record to the tenant within 28 days. If a new tenant moves in, it is a legal requirement to provide them with a copy of the latest gas safety check record.

Landlords must keep copies of the record for a minimum of two years.

Annual gas safety checks are also required by:

• 1. Residential premises provided by housing associations, local authorities and co-operatives
• 2. Hotels, guest houses and bed and breakfasts
• 3. Hostels
• 4. Colleges
• 5. Boarding schools
• 6. Holiday accommodation

Gas Safe

All installation, maintenance, repair work and safety checks to a rental property must be undertaken by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

And this is where you, a fully qualified, Gas Safe registered engineer can come in. It is perfectly feasible that you could build a thriving business serving purely landlords in your area.

For example, a gas safety certificate starts at around £25 excluding VAT, which covers testing the gas meter only. Add another £5-£10 per appliance and charging between £40-£50 plus VAT to test the meter and three appliances is a very competitive price. And a profitable one for you as it’s unlikely to take you very long to carry out and any repairs or maintenance required are likely to be passed on to you.

Plus, as gas safety checks need to done annually, it automatically means repeat business.

We hope you found this article ‘Gas engineers and landlords – keeping tenants safe and landlords legal’ useful. Please note that we do not offer specific guidance on setting up a business but provide relevant training to ensure you are fully qualified and experienced for when you’re ready to make that next step.

Please call Gas Training & Assessment on 01268 727797 today if you have any queries about any technical aspect of your qualifications.