When you are buying a property with the intention to rent it out, it is mandatory to carry out a Gas safety inspection before you let it out. There are other checks too, but this is the most important. A failure to get the inspection done could result in large fines, and in the event of an unfortunate incident, you could even face manslaughter charges and a prison term.
You need to get an inspection done through a CORGI registered engineer, who will provide you with an official gas safety certificate. You should also make sure that the tenant is given a copy of the instruction manuals on how to operate the equipment.
Your inspection should also cover a basic examination of the building flues. This inspection will only check if there is enough provision for combustible products to escape, and is enough to comply with regulations and law. In case you want to do a more extensive check which includes checking the state of lining, construction and flue integrity, it will be charged extra.
Once the equipment has cleared these checks, the engineer will finally document that it is safe to use. If not, he will let you know items that need replacement. In extreme cases, he might issue a warning notice along with the inspection report. It is mandatory to carry out these checks every 12 months. One of the features we have built into our property management software is the ability to generate reminders. For example you can generate ‘gas safety’ reminders. These will notify you when your certificates are due to expire so that you can get the checks done well in time.
