What types of plumbing and gas works require a Building Regulations Certificate?

When building or renovating a property, it can become confusing to know what works need notification and which don't. When it comes to gas, the rule is fairly simple – when any heat producing appliance is installed, your Local Authority (LA) must be informed.

The installation of the following gas appliances need to be reported to your LA in order to comply with England and Wales' Building Regulations:

• Boilers
• Water heaters
• Warm air heaters
• Gas fires
• Range cookers with integral boilers
• Heating systems
• Unvented hot water systems

Please note that different regulations apply to Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and Guernsey; if you are working in any of these areas, you must ensure that you comply with their specific legal requirements.

As the property owner, it is your responsibility to ensure that any works carried out comply with Building Regulations. Therefore, using a Gas Safe registered engineer is in your best interests. Not only does it give you the peace of mind of knowing that the person working in your home is legal and competent, but a registered engineer is able to notify the LA through the Gas Safe Register Competent Persons Scheme.

With all the expense surrounding new builds and renovations, it can be tempting to go down the cheaper route when it comes to building work. However, when it comes to gas, cutting corners could lead to a whole host of problems down the line, including:

• Prosecution. If work doesn't comply with Building Regulations, it won't be legal and you could be fined up to £5000.
• Further expense. If work is found to be faulty, your Local Authority is well within its rights to insist that you rectify the issue at your expense.
• Issues when you come to sell your home. You may be asked to provide Building Control Certificates but if you haven't notified your LA, you won't have any record that your work is compliant.
• Health problems. Are you sure that the work has been carried out in a safe and professional manner? Without having work signed off, you cannot be 100% sure.
• An inefficient home. Again, you cannot be sure that works carried out in your property meet energy efficiency standards.

You need to ensure that the LA is informed of your new installation within 30 working days.

Once notified, you should expect to have your Certificate within 15 working days. Remember that as the Building Regulations Compliance Certificate belongs to your property rather than you, it should be kept in a safe place to be passed on if you were to ever remortgage or sell.

If you are concerned that you haven't yet received your Certificate, you should contact your Gas Safe registered engineer to check that they have notified the Local Authority. If they haven't and you begin having issues with them regarding notification, you can contact the Gas Safe Register or your Local Authority Building Control Department.

Have you lost your Building Regulations Compliance Certificate? Simply order a replacement from the Gas Safe Register but please note that this will incur a small charge.