Gas safety

Any person in control of premises, either landlord or managing agent, has a duty to make sure that gas appliances, fittings and flues are installed, maintained and repaired in accordance with the appropriate standards and legislation. By doing this, not only will responsible persons be complying with the law, they will, more importantly, ensure that such equipment can be safely operated.

Failure of the above duty may lead to prosecution of the person responsible for maintenance, with the attendant potential for civil action in the event of an injury or damage to property occurring.

The UK’s Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 apply to the installation, maintenance and use of gas appliances (both portable and fixed), and fittings and flues in domestic and commercial premises.

Since April 2009 all gas engineers have been required to comply with the Gas Safe registration scheme, which requires all engineers to carry an ID card when undertaking work on gas appliances.

The ID card shows the type of gas work they can carry out, including whether or not they are allowed to work on commercial gas systems. This is an important point because being Gas Safe Registered does not necessarily mean that a person is competent to inspect, repair or maintain every gas appliance.