If you’re a homeowner or landlord with gas central heating or a gas cooker, it’s important to know these particular appliances come with risks and responsibilities. In order to stay safe and avoid accidents, it’s vital to make sure your gas appliances are in good working order at all times. In this guide we’ll explain why a gas appliance safety check and an annual service are crucial to staying safe all year round (and legally binding for landlords), and why it’s a good idea to have all your gas appliances checked just before the intensive period of use over autumn and winter.
If you’re struggling and needing a repair, HomeServe offers a repair service. You can also protect yourself and your home in the future, HomeServe offers boiler cover and heating breakdown insurance you can rely on.
What is a gas appliance?
A gas appliance is any appliance in a home or property that is designed for use by the consumer for heating, lighting cooking or other purposes which is fuelled by gas – such as a gas boiler for your hot water and central heating system, a gas fire or a gas cooker.
Gas central heating systems are still the most common in the UK by far, so the following guidance will apply to the majority of households.
What are the risks of owning a gas appliance?
If you own a gas appliance, there are three main risks that you need to be aware of:
Gas leaks
If you have a gas leak, it can lead to a fire or explosion in your home. If you smell gas, call your emergency service provider immediately or check out our article What to do if you smell gas in your property. Gas leaks are checked for during a gas safety check.
Fires and explosions
Whereas appliances normally burn gas in a measured, controlled way, an appliance or pipework that’s developed a fault may start to leak gas, which can then ignite and cause a fire or explosion.
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Any gas appliance in your home can potentially produce carbon monoxide (CO) if it’s incorrectly installed, maintained or repaired, or if any vents, flues, or chimneys in your home have become blocked. Carbon monoxide is a highly poisonous and potentially deadly gas, which is produced when the gas any carbon based fuel being used in your central heating system doesn’t burn properly. Carbon monoxide is especially dangerous because it’s invisible and odourless.
Read our article to learn more about Symptoms of Carbon monoxide poisoning and Should I have a carbon monoxide alarm on every story.
This is why it’s so important for homeowners and landlords to get all their gas appliances checked once a year by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
Landlords are legally required to ensure “as far as is reasonably practicable” that any relevant appliances, and any flue which serves a relevant gas appliance that they provide to their tenants are safe. In layman’s terms this means landlords should organise for a gas appliance service and a gas safety check to be carried out at their property or properties once a year (at the very least) to stay within the law.
Check out our gas safety tips from HomeServe experts.
What happens during a gas safety check?
Basically, a gas safety check is performed by a Gas Safe registered engineer, who tests your gas appliances and gas installation to make sure they’ll keep working safely in your home. It’s not specifically a boiler check, but more a general inspection of all your gas appliances, including cookers, fires and gas installation pipework.
What exactly is checked?
The gas safety check doesn’t involve the Gas Safe engineer inspecting specific parts. Instead, they ensure that everything is running as it should be. This could include checking that your boiler or gas appliance is:
- Properly set, allowing the gas to burn properly
- Ventilation for combustion air is satisfactory
- Safety devices are working correctly
- Flues, chimneys are suitable and effective
- It’s operation to ensure safe functioning
Your engineer will also check:
- Suitable for the room in which it’s installed
- Securely fitted, stable and properly connected to the gas pipework
Are homeowners legally obliged to arrange a gas safety check?
Homeowners aren’t legally obliged to carry out a gas safety check, but it’s in your very best interest to do so, to keep your family safe from gas leaks, fires and carbon monoxide poisoning.
Are landlords legally obliged to arrange a gas safety check?
Yes. Landlords are required by law to carry out a gas safety check on each property they own once a year. You must also get a landlords gas safety record as the result of the checks (otherwise known as a CP12) and provide a copy of this to your tenants.
Gas engineers do not necessarily have to provide CP12s to people at the conclusion of a gas safety check in a private dwelling, so if you’re a landlord, make sure you make it clear that a landlords gas safety record must be produced for you before you contract them.
What’s the difference between a gas appliance safety check and a full gas installation safety check?
A full gas installation safety check is mandatory for landlords and homeowners can upgrade their safety check to the full one, to include:
- Visually inspecting the pipework
- Testing the tightness of the pipes to make sure there are no leaks
What if we have shared vents?
If you live in a house or flat with a shared chimney or flue, make sure you are sharing responsibility with the other residents to get these checked out every year. Carbon monoxide can enter buildings through shared vents, so a faulty vent could impact everyone in the building.
What is the difference between a gas appliance service and a gas safety check?
A boiler or gas appliance service is different to a routine gas safety check. It includes all the items checked in a gas safety check, however, a service would include the full dismantling of the appliance and the cleaning of specific components in line with the manufacturer’s instructions. Combustion exhaust gas analysis to check that the appliance is burning gas safely
- Checking the appliance’s condition for signs of heat or distress, effectiveness of seals and gaskets, and cleanliness of heat exchangers.
What happens during a boiler or gas appliance service?
The checklist for each specific boiler or gas appliance varies, depending on the specific boiler or appliance type and model, so your Gas Safe registered engineer will be guided by this and will therefore probably need to make additional or different checks. A gas cooker service will of course be different from a boiler gas safety service.
Depending on the work the engineer has done during the service, they might give you a Gas Safety Record document. This isn’t a legal requirement for landlords or homeowners, however.
What happens if my boiler or appliance is unsafe?
When an engineer identifies an unsafe situation they should:
- explain what the fault is
- try to find the cause
- repair the fault
- If they can’t repair the fault there and then, they should ask for your permission to make the appliance safe, and do so immediately (normally by disconnecting or turning off the gas supply to the affected part.
The engineer must issue you with a warning Notice indicating the fault and the action they have taken, the engineer will also place a danger – Do Not Use label on the unsafe appliance - You will then need to arrange for a repair before using the appliance again.
Important note: The only people who are legally allowed to perform gas work which includes gas safety checks and gas appliance servicing are Gas Safe Registered engineers.
Gas appliance repairs made easy
When your gas appliance breaks down, time is of the essence. You can count on HomeServe’s prompt response and skilled Gas Safe Registered Engineers to fix the issue in no time!
Our experts are trained to handle a wide range of gas appliance repairs, ensuring your safety and peace of mind. Choose HomeServe and enjoy hassle-free, reliable gas appliance repairs.
FAQs
What happens during a gas safety check?
Your boiler or gas appliance will be checked for signs that:
- The gas is burning properly
- It’s suitable for the room it’s installed in
- It’s securely fitted, stable and properly connected to the gas pipework
- It’s properly ventilated
- The safety devices function correctly
- Flues, chimneys and air vents function properly
Do gas cookers need servicing?
Yes. All gas appliances need to be serviced to protect the household from their main inherent risks of incorrectly installed or maintained gas appliances – gas leaks, fires, explosions and carbon monoxide poisoning.
What is the difference between a gas appliance service and a gas safety check?
A boiler or gas appliance service sometimes includes all the items checked in a gas safety check. However, there are extra tests carried out that are detailed in your specific appliance manufacturer’s instructions to make sure it’s maintained properly and safely.