Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, places more responsibility on landlords to ensure a duty of care for tenants in their accommodation.
Yet a recent report by gas watchdog Corgi clearly illustrated a growing problem of carbon monoxide poisoning, up 48% in 2007, sighting non-owner occupiers as the most vulnerable group (27% of incidents over their 16 months investigation).
Furthermore, the report identified 35% of tenants unable to obtain an up-to-date gas safety record, when it is a legal obligation on the landlord to provide this. Even if tenants are supplied with this important document, it does not require to check for the installation of a CO alarm or whether it is fully functional.
However, CoGDEM (the Council of Gas Detection and Environmental Monitoring) recommends that CO alarms are tested every 6-12 months.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned landlords to ensure gas appliances are safe for tenants. The warning follows the prosecution of two landlords after a mother and two children were hospitalised as a result of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning from a gas-powered warm air heater.
Two landlords were found guilty of failing to ensure a warm air heater had been maintained safely¹ and also of ensuring it was regularly serviced by a registered gas fitter². They were fined £2,500 each with an additional £1,800 costs awarded against them - totalling £6,800.
The City of London Magistrates Court heard that when the heating system in the flat was tested by the HSE it was found to be producing 24,000 parts per million of CO. The test found CO started to leak into the bedroom and hall and had already reached dangerous levels in four minutes. Once the inside of the heating system had been cleaned CO levels fell to two parts per million. The warm air heater had not been inspected or maintained since 1996.
These incidents could have been avoided through basic good safety practice, such as having gas appliances installed and subsequently checked and maintained annually. Equally important is the installation of a CO detector and testing the sensor every 3-6 months.
- Regulation 36 (2) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 states landlords must ensure a relevant gas fitting and flue are maintained in a safe condition so as to prevent the risk of injury to any person in lawful occupation of the premises.
- Regulation 36 (3) (b) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 states a landlord must ensure a relevant gas fitting and flue has been checked for safety by a CORGI registered engineer within a period of 12 months before a lease commences.
