Unless you have been a landlord for many years, you may not know of all the legal responsibilities that you may have. You must be able to keep your property in good condition in order for it be legally rented out. This includes having safety checks on your electricity, gas and other appliances.
At NJ Harkus, we work with many landlords providing gas safety certificates in Cardiff, which is a legal requirement for those renting out properties.
How To Get A Gas Safety Certificate
In order for you as a landlord to get a gas safe certificate, you must arrange for a registered gas safe engineer to perform an inspection of your property. Once the inspection is complete, the engineer will provide you with a gas safety certificate, which is also known as a CP12 and is valid for 12 months.
If you have arranged for a plumber to inspect your property, you will want to ensure they hold the correct qualifications. They may provide you with some documentation but you can also use the Gas Safe Register to search for the plumber.
For example, our details are on the register with each service type that we are allowed to work with.
What Is Checked During The Inspection?
When it comes to the inspection, the engineer will be looking at appliances such as gas cookers, gas boilers, gas fires, gas water heaters and gas pipework.
If the tenants have bought their own gas appliances, they are responsible themselves for those appliances. However, you will still be responsible for the pipework, flues or chimneys that those appliances are connected to.
What Happens If There Are Problems?
For any problems that are found within the property, the engineer must disconnect the faulty equipment and have the gas supply switched off. Our team will be able to fix any gas related problems whilst carrying out our inspection.
However, if the engineer is not able to fix the issue, they must document the problems found and the landlord must fix them before receiving a certificate.
Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Although the majority of landlords do not install coal fire or wood burning stoves, some rental accommodations do have these appliances. If the property does have these appliances, a carbon monoxide detector must be installed and be fully functioning. Although you do not legally have to have one installed, we do strongly recommend them anyway for those with gas boilers.
