The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched a new website that will offer landlords all the information they need about gas safety.

The HSE’s One Stop Shop covers all the legal duties that landlords have regarding protecting their tenants from the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning from boilers and risks associated with other gas equipment in homes, such as ovens.

The website has been launched with support from the National Landlords Association (NLA) and breaks down the information into easy-to-use sections, including repair and maintenance, annual gas safety checks and record keeping – as well as giving answers to frequently asked questions.

An estimated 14 million tenants lived in 6 million rental properties in the UK – in 2008-09, 15 people died from carbon monoxide poisoning associated with domestic gas appliances, due mainly to gas appliances having been poorly fitted or inadequately serviced.

The HSE and Local Authorities enforce the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations

1998 in both domestic and commercial premises.

The regulations include statutory obligations on landlords to maintain gas appliances that they own. All landlords are legally obliged to arrange for a Gas Safe registered engineer to check all gas appliances and flues within 12 months of being installed – and then at least every 12 months. Landlords are also required to complete any necessary maintenance and repairs of gas appliances, flues and pipe work.

The HSE’s head of Work Environment, Radiation and Gas Division, Pete Brown, said:

‘Tenants should quite rightly expect that their landlords are taking all necessary steps to

ensure that gas appliances are safe. Though there are legal duties on landlords,

meeting them shouldn’t be an onerous task. The new website provides all the

information landlords need in one place.’

© 5r1 Limited 2010