Dirty Diy advises that you should never undertake any sort of DIY involving gas.

Gas Safe Register is the official list of gas engineers who are registered to work safely and legally on gas appliances. By law, all gas engineers must be on the Gas Safe Register.

Who is a landlord?

Landlords' duties apply to a wide range of accommodation, occupied under a lease or licence, which includes, but not exclusively:

• Residential premises provided for rent by local authorities, housing associations, private sector landlords, housing co-operatives and hostels.
• Rooms let in bed-sit accommodation, private households, bed and breakfast accommodation and hotels.
• Rented holiday accommodation such as chalets, cottages, flats, caravans and narrow boats on inland waterways.

AM I responsible if there is a lifelong lease in place?

If the lease is for longer than seven years and is for life, the landlord is not responsible for gas safety checks and maintenance. But if there is an implied tenancy arrangement, such as accommodation is provided as part of your job (eg vicar, publican), you should continue to carry out your duties for maintenance and gas safety checks.

What are my duties as a landlord in relation to gas safety?

As a landlord, you are responsible for the safety of your tenants. The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 deal with landlords’ duties to make sure gas appliances, fittings and flues provided for tenants are safe.

Appliances, fittings and flues in a communal area but which tenants may use are also included. You are responsible for the maintenance and repair of flues, appliances and pipework provided for your tenants use; by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Although there is no prescribed time frame for these duties, good practice would be the demonstration of regular, annual maintenance checks and subsequent repairs.

You are also responsible for ensuring an annual gas safety check is carried out within 12 months of the installation of a new appliance or flue which you provide and annually thereafter by a Gas Safe Registered engineer. You must keep a record of the safety check for 2 years and issue a copy to each existing tenant within 28 days of the check being completed and issue a copy to any new tenants before they move in.

What if I use a managing/letting agent?

If a managing agent is used to help you meet your duties, make sure that the management contract clearly specifies who is to make the arrangements for maintenance and safety checks. HSE strongly advises that you request to see copies of the maintenance information and safety check from the management agency to ensure maintenance has been completed, which will also help to fulfil your other legal duties.

What are the duties of an agent in relation to gas safety?

Your contract should clearly specify who is responsible for carrying out the maintenance and safety check duties, and keeping of associated records. If the contract specifies that the agent has responsibility then the same duties under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 that apply to a landlord apply to
the agent.

In this situation an agent must arrange maintenance by a Gas Safe registered engineer for all pipework, appliances and flues, which the landlord owns and provides for the tenants use. You must also arrange for an annual gas safety check to be carried out every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer. You must keep a record of the safety check for 2 years and issue a copy to each existing tenant within 28 days of the check being completed and issue a copy to any new tenants before they move in.

What gas appliances do I have responsible for?

Any gas appliance that you own and provide for the tenant's use is included in your legal duties. If a tenant has their own gas appliance that you have not provided, then you have responsibilities for parts of the associated installation and pipework but not for the actual appliance.

There are some good practice measures that you could adopt with appliances that tenants own:

• Send a reminder to the tenant that their appliances should be serviced and checked for safety each year by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and where possible, offer to include these (at reasonable cost) within gas safety maintenance undertaken on your behalf.
• At the start of the tenancy, advise the tenant of any flues or chimneys that are unsuitable for the installation of a gas appliance. You may also wish to consider regulating the installation of any appliance by a tenant through the conditions of the tenancy agreement.
• It is also recommended to include all flues (eg chimneys) connected to gas appliances within your landlord's gas safety check, even where they do not serve appliances provided by the landlord. This may also help to fulfil other legal duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
• Free-standing cookers connected by a flexible connector (bayonet fitting), are not considered to be ‘readily movable’, but can be moved, temporarily, eg to clean the space they normally occupy; this type of activity is not regarded as ‘work’ within the meaning of these regulations.
• Any other type of installation/reinstallation is regarded as gas work and must be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer,

For any further help or advice go to the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) website http://www.rla.org.uk/