Your annual gas safety check
It is a legal requirement to service/inspect all gas appliances in our homes annually. In order to do this you will be contacted by us to arrange for one of our Gas Safe registered engineers to visit your home to carry out a gas safety check every year.
We will check the gas appliance responsible for providing central heating and hot water in your home and visually check those appliances privately owned by yourself.
How does an appointment work?
When a safety check is due, we’ll send you a letter four to six weeks before, letting you know the date and time of the appointment. If we don’t hear from you within five working days, we’ll schedule the appointment with an engineer.
24 hours before the appointment, we’ll send you a text message to remind you what time you’re booked in for.
If you’re not in when we visit, we’ll leave a card asking you to call us to arrange another appointment. We would advise you to let us know as soon as possible if you’re not able to make an appointment, as we’ll be able to book you in for another date. If you can’t make a second appointment we’ll leave another card and a warning label across your front door.
What happens if I don’t give you access to my home?
It’s a breach of your tenancy agreement for you not to give us access to your property to allow us to carry out a safety check.
If you refuse, we can take legal action which could result in you incurring court costs. You may even lose your home.
What if I have my own gas appliances?
If you have any gas appliances that haven’t been fitted by us, such as a cooker, you should arrange to have them checked every year to make sure they are safe.
Always use a Gas Safe registered service engineer. Call the Gas Safe Register on 0800 408 5500 or visit www.gassaferegister.co.uk
I’ve not had a gas safety check for over a year – what could happen?
If gas equipment isn’t maintained properly there is a risk that gas could cause an explosion or carbon monoxide poisoning.
If you smell gas in your home It is important to take the following actions:
- immediately phone National Grid on this gas emergency Freephone number: 0800 111 999
- turn off the mains gas supply
- turn off all gas appliances
- open all doors and windows
- do not use matches, naked flames or light cigarettes
- do not turn any electrical switches on or off
If you can’t shut off the gas supply, National Grid will do this for you.
After National Grid have visited, you must call us immediately so we can inspect and repair any leaks to the system.
What’s carbon monoxide?
You can’t see it, taste it or smell it, but carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas that can be produced if your appliance is faulty, the room is not properly ventilated or the chimney or flues are blocked.
It’s important that you allow us in to make the annual check. If you don’t, you could be putting your life and the lives of your family and neighbours at risk.
What if I have an open fireplace / woodburner?
On the visit our Technician will need to check on any open fire / solid fuel burning appliance and advise the customer accordingly. These appliances require a CO Detector, ventilation and in most cases the chimney swept annually.