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We are aware that the new restrictions announced by the UK Prime Minister on leaving your own home and avoidance of any social contact will reduce the ability for landlords to arrange annual safety checks. Gas Safe Register are working with the HSE to provide new guidance specific to this 3-week period.
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, eg 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. This will need to include records of communication with the tenant and details of your engineers attempts to gain access.
Source: Gas Safe Register
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