Gas Safe Register is the official list of gas engineers who are qualified to work safely and legally on gas appliances. It has replaced CORGI registration. Only a Gas Safe registered engineer should fit, fix or service gas appliances.
Landlords have responsibilities for gas safety. By law your landlord must keep all gas appliances supplied for you to use in good condition. They must arrange for a Gas Safe registered engineer to carry out a gas safety check on them every 12 months and provide you with a copy of the landlord’s gas safety record.
Always:
- Ask for a copy of the landlord’s current gas safety record before you move in. By law landlords have to give a hard copy to the tenant on or before the move in date.
- Cooperate with your landlord and let a registered engineer in when a gas safety check or servicing has to be done.
- Check the ID card of any gas engineer that comes to do work in your home. The engineer must be Gas Safe registered.
Carbon Monooxide Awareness
Does the property have a carbon monoxide alarm? If not, ask the landlord to install one in every room which has a gas appliance.
By law the landlord must fit a carbon monoxide alarm in any room that has a coal or wood burning fire or stove. This does not include gas, but it is a good idea to ask your landlord for this.
If you have a gas appliance in your home, carbon monoxide is a possible danger. Badly fitted and poorly serviced appliances can cause gas leaks, fires and carbon monoxide poisoning.
If you think a gas appliance is faulty, turn it off and let your landlord know immediately. In an emergency call the gas emergency helpline 0800 111 999. If you feel unwell, seek medical help immediately.
For more information and to find and check an engineer go to www.gassaferegister.co.uk or call 0800 408 5500.
Once you have moved into your new student accommodation, it is a good idea not to burn it down. Think carefully about fire safety and make sure you take precautions to prevent fires and have a plan of action in the event of a fire.
Check that there are smoke alarms on each level of your house and check them weekly. Don't take the batteries out even if they keep going off when you cook. It could be that they are in the wrong position. Seek advice from the fire brigade.
Keep doors closed at night to delay the spread of a fire. Whoever's last to bed should check everything is turned off (not just on standby) and that any candles and cigarettes are out.
If there is no fire extinguisher or fire blanket in the kitchen, ask your landlord for one.
By law, all furniture, manufactured after 1st January 1950, must be fire resistant and will have a label to prove it. Check that it is there. Keep an eye out for dodgy wiring and unsafe electrical points. Do not place candles near curtains or other flammable objects. Remember to blow them out before you go to bed.
Private landlords are required to have at least one smoke alarm installed on each storey of their properties.
If your property is a HMO, your landlord will also have to comply with standards set by the Local Authority which will include the provision of fire extinguishers and blankets. If they are not provided you should ask for them.
Also, contact your local fire brigade for free advice on making a fire action plan, and further information on fire safety.
Dangerous electrical appliances or damaged sockets can cause fire or serious injury.
From 1st July 2020 landlords of all new tenancies in England must have had the electrics in their property inspected by a competent electrician and landlords must provide you with a copy of the inspection report. Landlords must deal with any issues raised by the report within 28 days and then provide written confirmation of this to each tennat within 28 days.
These rules do not apply to student lettings in halls of residence or in Wales, but these may hold an NICEIC certificate which will prove that the property has been inspected within the last given years. HMOs in Wales are legally required to have the electricity inspection every 5 years.
You can contact Environmental Health. They can check that the appliances are safe and also have the power to serve legal notices on the landlord to have a full service carried out. They can report landlords to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) for not carrying out their legal obligations.
