UK Government update – COVID-19: Advice for landlords
UK Government update 27th March 2020
Gas & Landlords gas safety checks
Latest updates from Gas Safe Register:
Updated guidance for property landlords from the HSE: Landlord Gas Safety Checks
This topic has been the source of a lot of misunderstanding and concern this week.
We have had clarified guidance from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today and this has just been updated on our website, and follows below. We ask that you all take the time to read this carefully, and to check your understanding of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations if necessary. A free copy of the GSIUR 1998 is available to download at https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l56.htm
We are keen to highlight that, as set out below, landlords are legally responsible for the safety of their properties and have a duty of care to their tenants, as stated in Regulation 36 of The Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998. This means that registered gas engineers are not responsible for Landlord Gas Safety Checks being in place or up to date.
The information below highlights that the current Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations already have a provision with them (Regulation 39), that achieves the same outcome as, for a comparable example, a 3-month suspension on vehicle tests (MOTs) for cars. This means that no change to the current regulation is required, because they already accommodate the situations arising in the current environment, such as tenants needing to self-isolate and refusing an inspection.
The following guidance is intended for landlords of properties:
HSE Coronavirus (COVID-19): Advice for landlords – Updated 27 March 2020
The Health and Safety Executive state:
“Landlords have a duty of care to their tenants. This is a legal duty to repair and maintain gas pipework, flues and appliances in a safe condition, to ensure an annual gas safety check on each appliance and flue, and to keep a record of each safety check.
In the event you are unable to gain access to the property, e.g., refusal of access due to tenants self-isolating, or if you are unable to engage a registered gas engineer to carry out the work due to a shortage of available engineers, you will be expected to be able to demonstrate that you took reasonable steps to comply with the law. This will need to include records of communication with the tenant and details of your engineers attempts to gain access. You should seek to arrange the safety check as soon as all parties are available.
If you anticipate difficulties in gaining access as the COVID-19 situation progresses, you have the flexibility to carry out annual gas safety checks two months before the deadline date. Landlords can have the annual gas safety checks at their properties carried out any time from 10 to 12 calendar months after the previous check and still retain the original deadline date as if the check had been carried out exactly 12 months after the previous check.
You are encouraged to arrange your annual gas safety checks as early as possible, as a contingency against tenants being in self-isolation for a period of 14 days (in line with current guidelines), or gas engineers being unavailable due to illness. The two-month period to carry out annual gas safety checks should provide adequate resilience in most situations.
Current guidance from HM Government concurs that work can still be carried out in people’s homes where necessary, e.g., for reasons of safety, provided that the GOV.UK guidance on social distancing is followed. See ‘Advice for engineers’ for guidance for engineers and their employers regarding working in peoples’ homes.”
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We also recommend that you check MHCLG’s advice for landlords and renters, which includes advice such as:
Landlords remain legally obligated to ensure properties meet the required standard – urgent, essential health and safety repairs should be made. An agreement for non-urgent repairs to be done later should be made between tenants and landlords. Local authorities are also encouraged to take a pragmatic, risk-based approach to enforcement. – Published 26 March 2020, Gov.UK
Gas Safe Register – Remit
Gas Safe Register operate the single mandatory UK register of competent gas businesses and the qualified engineers that work for those businesses on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as required under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (GSIUR). Inspection monitoring and investigating gas safety concerns raised by homeowners form part of the activities and services required of us.
Gas Safe Register operates within the remit given to us by the Health & Safety Executive and our scope of authority is strictly limited to gas safety, as defined by the Gas Safety (Installations & Use) Regulations 1998. Gas Safe Register has no autonomous discretion to extend this remit to include any other aspect of a registered installer’s working practices, skills, standard of workmanship and behaviour or attitude.
This means that as Gas Safe Register is a registration body, rather than a trade or business membership organisation. Our remit is gas safety and unfortunately does not extend to giving independent advice on public health issues such as coronavirus. This means we have to continue to refer you back to government advice on all these topics.
Furthermore, we cannot make decisions for individual businesses on areas that are the responsibility of that business. We are also unable to make decisions for individual businesses of areas that are the responsibility of that business. For example, choosing to work during this period.
Gas Safe Register Inspections
During this initial period of restriction, Gas Safe Register anticipates we will only conduct inspections undertaken by GSR Inspectors into high risk scenarios, and that these will be determined on a case-by-case basis with the HSE.
All other inspections will be held and prioritised to be scheduled once the restrictions are lifted, or we better understand the situation and can make decisions that balance gas safety with public health and the UK governments requirements.
We have paused all of our routine Inspection Events for the time being and are looking at suitable alternatives to attending an event in person. This work will continue, and we will communicate details of these as soon as they have been decided.
Staying up to date
All of our services are available online, at www.GasSafeRegister.co.uk, or you can email us with your query to register@gassaferegister.co.uk and we will aim to respond to you as quickly as possible.
You will continue to find all our latest information and advice in response to the pandemic on our website as they emerge, and you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Our Technical Team are available at technical@gassaferegister.co.uk
Respecting and supporting each other
A few engineers have determined to make Gas Safe Register and its staff the target of their frustration with the emerging national situation.
Whilst we understand your concern at the current situation, we would ask you to consider whether your behaviour is constructive in this climate, where we all face a highly-changeable situation and are trying to work together to meet a wide range of needs.
We remind you that our staff are also people too, they have concerns like you, they are trying to do their very best to help you; our staff should not have to and will not tolerate any abuse. Should they feel a conversation is becoming abusive, they will have to stop the conversation in question.
Yours faithfully,
Vicky Lincoln,
Marketing & Customer Services Director Bob Kerr
Gas Services Director
UK Government update 25th March 2020
Landlords gas safety checks
COVID-19: Advice for landlords
We are aware that the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK may make it more difficult for landlords to arrange annual safety checks in some cases, as tenants may need to self-isolate for 14 days, or longer periods, and as registered gas engineers availability reduces due to the same measures.
The latest restrictions on leaving the home, announced by the UK government on 23rd March currently allow Registered Gas Engineers to undertake essential work, whilst taking the appropriate precautions advised to avoid spreading or contracting the virus in a new setting.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19
www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-decontamination-in-non-healthcare-settings/covid-19-decontamination-in-non-healthcare-settings
Landlords have a legal duty to repair and maintain gas pipework, flues and appliances in a safe condition, to ensure an annual gas safety check on each appliance and flue, and to keep a record of each safety check.
If you anticipate difficulties in gaining access as the COVID-19 situation progresses, you have the flexibility to carry out annual gas safety checks two months before the deadline date. Landlords can have the annual gas safety checks at their properties carried out any time from 10 to 12 calendar months after the previous check and still retain the original deadline date as if the check had been carried out exactly 12 months after the previous check.
You are encouraged to arrange your annual gas safety checks as early as possible, as a contingency against tenants being in self-isolation for a period of 14 days (in line with current guidelines), or gas engineers being unavailable due to illness.
The two-month period to carry out annual gas safety checks should provide adequate resilience in most situations.
In the event you are unable to gain access to the property, e.g. persistent refusal of access due to vulnerable tenants self-isolating, you will be expected to be able to demonstrate that you took reasonable steps to comply with the law, and that you are seeking to arrange the safety check as soon as all parties are able. This will need to include records of communication with the tenant, and details of your engineers attempts to gain access.
Gas Safe Update 23rd March 2020
Landlords gas safety checks
We are seeking updated guidance from the HSE regarding their provisions for Landlords Gas Safety checks during this period of national lockdown. We will publish this as soon as it is available.
The latest restrictions on leaving the home, announced by the UK government on 23rd March currently allow Registered Gas Engineers to undertake essential work, whilst taking the appropriate precautions advised to avoid spreading or contracting the virus in a new setting.
We now have a situation where tenants and customers don’t want engineers in the home, engineers are getting very worried as they don’t want to enter the home, so we are seeking clarification from Gas safe & HSE on this they must act quickly on this matter regarding Gas Safety Checks
Landords:
Landlords have a legal duty to repair and maintain gas pipework, flues and appliances in a safe condition, to ensure an annual gas safety check on each appliance and flue, and to keep a record of each safety check.
If you anticipate difficulties in gaining access as the COVID-19 situation progresses, you have the flexibility to carry out annual gas safety checks two months before the deadline date. Landlords can have the annual gas safety checks at their properties carried out any time from 10 to 12 calendar months after the previous check and still retain the original deadline date as if the check had been carried out exactly 12 months after the previous check.
This is ok but not the answer we want, if Gas engineers are being unavailable due to illness or the have signed themselves off, The two-month period to carry out annual gas safety checks should provide adequate resilience in most situations.
In the event you are unable to gain access to the property, e.g. persistent refusal of access due to vulnerable tenants self-isolating, you will be expected to be able to demonstrate that you took reasonable steps to comply with the law, and that you are seeking to arrange the safety check as soon as all parties are able. This will need to include records of communication with the tenant, and details of your engineers attempts to gain access.
We will update when we know more.
Andy Smith