A Guide to Gas Safety

 

A guide to gas safety

For your safety, we need to visit your home once a year and check your gas supply and appliances are safe.

What does the check involve?

The safety check is free and only takes about 40 minutes. We check and service your boiler, gas pipes and flues (pipes that take fumes outside). We will also check the connection to your gas cooker but not the cooker itself. It is your responsibility to make sure the cooker is safe (unless we supplied you with it as part of your tenancy). If you want us to check the cooker for you, we can do this for a small fee.

Why do I need a gas service and safety check?

Every year in the UK about 50 people die from carbon-monoxide poisoning because of faulty gas fires, central-heating boilers, cookers and other gas appliances. Often these deaths could be avoided if the appliance had been regularly checked. As well as making your home safer, a check will make sure your appliance is working properly therefore saving you money.

How is my yearly check arranged?

When your next safety check is due, you will receive a letter with an appointment time.

  •  It is really important that you keep this appointment.
  •  Please tell the contractor if this time is not convenient for you, so they can rearrange a new time.
  •  If you are not at home for the appointment, the contractor will leave a card letting you know they called.

If you keep missing your appointments we can take legal action to get into your home.

The action we can take:

  • You will receive a letter asking you to contact us and arrange another appointment within seven days.
  • If you do not contact either us or the contractor, you will receive a letter from our solicitors. The cost of us sending this letter will be charged to you.
  • If you still do not allow our contractor in, we will apply for a court order. After an injunction has been served we can legally enter your home to carry out the gas service whether you are in at the time or not.

What happens after the check?

Once your check is complete, the contractor will give you a gas safety certificate which is known as a CP12.

I no longer use gas in my property; do I still need a check?

Even if the gas meter in your home has been turned off we still need to check the pipes to make sure there are no gas leaks.

Who is my gas contractor?

Our gas contractor is Mears and their engineers will visit all of our residents who need gas safety checks as well as performing works for Gas Central Heating.

What is Carbon Monoxide?

Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a colourless, odourless, poisonous gas. Carbon Monoxide can kill without warning - it does not have a smell and you cannot see it.

The early symptoms of CO poisoning are similar to the flu (but without the fever). They include headache, tiredness, shortness of breath, feeling sick and dizziness. As well as the checks that we carry out, you can help keep yourselves safe from CO poisoning by:

  • Never service your own fuel burning appliances without the proper knowledge, skills, and tools
  • Always use a CORGI-registered contractor to install and service your gas cooker and appliances
  • Never block air vents on an appliance
  • Never block outside grilles, flues or air bricks
  • Never use an appliance if you think it may not be working properly
  • Never burn charcoal inside your home, garage, vehicle or tent
  • Never use portable fuel-burning camping equipment inside a home
  • Never leave a car running in a garage attached to your home, even with the garage door open
  • Never use gas appliances such as ovens or clothes dryers for heating your home
  • Never use un-vented fuel-burning appliances in any room with closed doors or windows or in any room where people are sleeping
  • Install CO detector/alarms.
  • Make sure the detectors are not covered by furniture or curtains

In an emergency

If you think that there may be a gas leak in your home:

  • Turn off your gas supply straight away at the meter
  • Phone the national freephone gas emergency number straight away on: 0800 111 999

If you smell gas:

Do

  • Put out anything that makes a fire or flame (such as candles or your gas cooker)
  • Open all your doors and windows
  • Put out cigarettes

Don't

  • Don't use matches or naked flames
  • Don't turn any light switches or power switches on or off as they could make a spark