Posts Tagged ‘gas’

Every landlord hopes their property will be in safe hands, but sometimes things don’t always go to plan and emergencies occur. In order to help tenants act promptly in an emergency, it helps if they know a few key pieces of information regarding water, electricity and gas.

1. The location of the stopcock

In case of emergencies involving water, such as unexpected flooding or leaks in the property, or if the pipes burst during a cold winter, it’s essential to know where the stopcock is located so the water can be turned off.

It’s one of the first questions a plumber will ask if they come around to help sort out a problem and being able to turn the water off could prevent serious damage to your property. Common places where a stopcock may be located include under the sink, in the airing cupboard or even in the garage.

2. The location of the mains electricity switch

It’s important to know the location of the mains electricity switch in case there’s a problem with the electricity and it needs to be turned off. It’s also handy to know where the circuit breaker is located and how to reset it, in case the electrics trip at any time.

3. How to turn the gas off

In the case of a gas leak occurring, one of the first pieces of information given to anyone phoning a gas service helpline is to turn the gas off at the mains. To avoid any confusion with tenants about where the gas switch is, giving them the information could help prevent the situation getting worse.

Even if you’re using an agency who’ll respond to emergency calls, equipping your tenants with the details of where they can find these switches can save valuable time – as well as lives.

As tenants are not likely to need the information all that often, and may forget the locations if informed verbally, it’s useful to leave written details somewhere in the property so they can be accessed if required.

If you’re renting out one or more properties, then it’s essential to ensure the gas appliances are fitted correctly and will be safe for your tenants to use.

According to recent research by the company, Gas Safe Register, the successor to Corgi, up to 100,000 gas cookers and hobs are installed illegally every year by fitters who lack the necessary skills or qualifications to work with gas.

GSR carried out interviews with 427 gas workers and discovered that 95% were fully or partially qualified to work with gas appliances. Nearly 40% of the workers subcontracted out their work, so said they didn’t need to be registered themselves and 7% didn’t bother to check whether the person they were subcontracting was registered.

It may not sound like many, but this amounts to unqualified workers carrying out up to 250,000 gas jobs, with pipework, hobs or cookers, per year. If that wasn’t enough, there are believed to be an additional 7,500 ‘hard core’ illegal gas fitters operating in the UK.

Although it may be tempting to choose a gas worker that’s cheaper than others, it’s essential to always use a registered Gas Safe engineer for work in your rental properties. If an illegal worker carried out changes or installations and failed to it properly, you could be putting the lives of your tenants at serious risk.

As a landlord, it’s always advisable to have a list of tradesmen handy for those emergency moments. If you’re using a lettings company, then they’ll handle this side of things for you, but it’s still useful to have a back-up list of your own, just in case.

If you’re unsure about the legality of a gas tradesperson, then you can always check the engineer’s Gas Safe Register ID card to confirm that they really are qualified to carry out the work.