As your landlord we are required by law to carry out a safety check every year. We do this in all council homes fitted with gas appliances to make sure that appliances are safe and working properly - which can also help you reduce your gas bills.
See important information about:
Carbon monoxide
Faulty appliances can be dangerous as they may cause an explosion or carbon monoxide poisoning. You can't see, smell or taste carbon monoxide so it can kill, without warning, in just a few hours.
Gas servicing
Gas servicing is part of your tenancy agreement which comes at no cost to you. You must let our engineers into your home to do the service. By law a gas safety check must be done once a year.
We will write to you 6 weeks before your service is due for renewal, asking you to contact the Housing Repairs team to arrange an appointment for your gas service and safety check. Please note:
- morning and afternoon appointments are available Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 4:00pm
- we can arrange for your appointment to be the first one on the day or work around school runs, where available
- in some instances, we can arrange evening and weekend appointments
Please let the Housing Repairs Team know as soon as you can if you can’t make your agreed appointment, so that we can agree a new time and date.
A gas engineer will call at the arranged time to carry out the gas service. If you are not in, the engineer will leave a card asking you to contact the Housing Repairs Team to make a new appointment.
For further gas safety advice please visit the Health and Safety Executive website or the Gas Safe website.
Gas servicing appointments
Our gas service and safety checks normally take between 30 and 90 minutes, depending on the condition and type of gas appliances you have.
One of our gas engineers will carry out the gas inspection and safety check. All our engineers are Gas Safe Registered and carry their Gas Safe card with them. They will show you their Gas Safe card, if you ask.
What happens during a gas service
Our gas service and safety check covers the gas appliances in your home that we own – usually your gas heating system, boiler and fire.
You are responsible for the safety of any gas appliances you own, such as a gas cooker. Our gas engineer will carry out a visual check of your gas cooker, but not service it. However, if the cooker is owned by us, then please let the gas engineer know when they call to service your boiler.
Our engineers will do the following:
- carry out a visual check of your appliance(s), flue and gas pipe work
- check and test the flue
- ensure that your air vent is correct
- replace any necessary parts
- carry out a gas test to make sure that your property has no leaks
- check that smoke alarms are in working order
Once finished the engineer will explain what work has been carried out and ask you to sign the gas safety certificate. All gas appliances, including your own, will be listed on the certificate.
Engineers may have to inspect your loft if the flue is in your roof space.
We will send you a copy of your Gas Certificate through the post within 28 days of your service. This lets you know your appliance is in safe working order. If you don’t receive a copy or can’t find your copy contact the Housing Repairs Team so that we can send one to you.
If any additional work is required that couldn’t be done during the service another appointment will be made at a mutually convenient time.
If your gas safety check fails
If the gas engineer finds a fault which may out you At Risk or is Immediately Dangerous they will put a warning sticker on your appliance and isolate it until it can be repaired or replaced. It may need a part which sometimes may take a few days to arrive.
If this happens and you have no heating, the engineer will arrange for some temporary heaters to be delivered to your home; you will be able to keep these until your appliance is fixed.
If the gas engineer finds any faults on your own gas appliances these will be made safe and you will be advised about the repairs needed. You will need to arrange and pay for the work to be done by a Gas Safe Registered engineer.
What you can do to help
We want to ensure that you and your family are safe in your home. You can help by:
- giving us access to your homes at the times we agree with you
- replying quickly to letters asking to make appointments with you
- keeping the appointment time we agree with you
- letting us know as soon as you can if you can’t make an appointment so that we can rearrange it
- never trying to repair any gas fault yourself
When the gas engineering is carrying out your gas service please:
- avoid going near the work area
- ensure all appliances and your Gas Meter are easily accessible
- keep any children or pets away from the work area
- keep access routes through your home clear
If you don’t let our engineer into your home
We take the safety of your family, friends and neighbours, very seriously. This is why servicing your gas appliance is very important to us.
It is a free service that takes no more than 90 minutes of your time to carry out. We have to carry out an annual service by law and we also want to protect the people in your home.
Even if we don’t hear from you, we will still call at your property. If you are not in we will leave a card to let you know we called and will send you a letter reminding you to make an appointment.
If we still don’t hear from you, we will send a third and final letter; after this we will apply for a warrant from Court, which will allow us to enter your home. We will let you know when we have done this and you still have the opportunity to contact us to arrange a gas service.
If we have to execute the warrant we will change the locks and charge you about £70 for new locks and keys.
Also see
Housing Repairs - Out of hours emergencies
Telephone: 01904 630405 or 01904 427699