Recent changes made from 6th April 2018, mean a new MOT style check is now available which allows landlords the flexibility to carry out their Landlords Gas Safety check up to two months before the due date but keep the same annual check date.
Old Rules:
As many of you will know, if a property is supplied with gas, a landlord has the responsibility to ensure the gas appliances are safe and checked by a qualified GasSafe registered engineer every year with fixed annual expiry dates.
New rules:
The amended regulations now mean the renewal date is known as the ‘deadline date’ and as such, if a gas safety record is done no more than 2 months before the 12 months deadline date, it’s treated as though it were done on the deadline date (although both dates should be recorded so an audit trail can be shown).
The regulations state:
Determination of date when next safety check is due under regulation 36(3)
36A.- (1) Where a safety check of an appliance or a flue … is or was completed within the period of 2 months ending with the deadline date, that check is to be treated … as having been made on the deadline date.
The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 are not aimed at reducing or relaxing safety standards, but to allow greater flexibility over when regular checks are carried out. The aim is to avoid last minute checks, landlord not being able to gain access with tenants, or having to shorten the annual cycle check to comply with the law.
Another interesting change:
Changes have also been made if an individual appliance is replaced in a property where there are other gas appliances. The new rules state that the gas safety record for the new appliance may be done up to 2 months after the deadline date but this discretion may be exercised only in order to align the deadline date of different appliances in relation to the next safety check.
Its much easier to explain this with an example:
A boiler breaks and is replaced on 25 June 2018. The deadline date for the boiler to have its first annual check is 25 June 2019 (the installation report will cover it for the first 12 months). However, there happens to be a gas hob in the property on which the next check due is on 15 August 2018. A gas safety record is completed for the hob only on 15 August 2018 and so the new deadline date is 15 August 2019.
There are now two deadline dates for the two appliances – Boiler – 25 June 2019 and Hob – 15 August 2019.
The changes to legislation mean that in order to align the deadline date to just one date, an engineer can attend the property once on 15 August 2019 and do both appliances at this time. This is despite the boiler being overdue however, this overdue completion can only be done once for the boiler.
As always, get in touch if you have any questions.
Article By: Natalia Gombalova
https://www.allagents.co.uk/blog/2018/04/the-new-similarity-between-gas-safety-checks-and-mot-certificate/