Landlord Gas Safety Checks

Bristol Plumbing & Heating work with letting agents and private landlords to provide safe and well maintained gas installations for their tenants.

All of our engineers are Gas Safe registered (formerly Corgi) and trained to the highest possible standards. We also provide ongoing training to keep them up to speed with the very latest safety issues and regulations to ensure we can offer the best quality service to our clients.

Bristol Plumbing and Heating will provide you with all of your Safety Certificates under one roof, saving you time and even more important saving you money. We offer generous discounts when clients order all 3 certificates at one time; Gas Safety; Periodic Electrical and PAT Testing. We can offer a discount as our multi skilled engineers only have to make one visit.

Periodic Electrical inspections

Within a periodic inspection we are testing the complete fixed installation of the property, this including sockets; lights; earthing arrangement and distribution board(s). This is an in-depth and labour intense test which ensure the landlord that there tenant (S) are safe against electrocution and fire; dependent on the results there may be work that needs to be carried out before the certificate can be issued. The time between inspections will be recommended by the engineer dependent on the results I.E. 1 Year, 3 year, 5 Years. However, if a tenant replaces sockets or lights which is not recommended then a check must be done after the tenancy.

Portable Appliance Testing For Landlords (PAT Testing)

Most landlords will be aware that current legislation require them to carry out a Gas Safety and Periodic Electrical check. However, some landlords are not aware that PAT Testing is also a requirement.

The requirement falls under the following legislation as listed by the current code of practice for in service inspection and testing of electrical equipment:

The Housing Act 2004 (England and Wales)
The Housing (Scotland) Act 2006
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
Electricity at Work Regulations 1989
The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994

The misunderstanding about PAT Testing often comes from the fact that a dwelling is not always considered to be a workplace and therefore not all of the regulations apply at all times. Rented accommodation, however, is considered by the law to be a work place for the landlord and therefore the above legislation applies where appropriate.

What types of appliance should be tested?

Only portable appliances supplied by the landlord are required to be tested within a PAT Test. These are appliances that can be picked up or wheeled I.E. washing machine; Kettle; Lawn mower; washing machine; fridge freezer.

What happens if I do not have the appliances PAT Tested?

There is currently no strict legal requirement for PAT testing. The Government however has put regulations into place that pertain to the maintenance of electrical appliances and the most effective way to ensure that these regulations are met is through PAT testing.

The UK Health and Safety Executive along with insurance companies will expect you to perform PAT testing to ensure that you are compliant with certain regulations including:

• Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974
• The Electricity at Work Regulations of 1989
• The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations of 1998
• The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations of 1999

Not complying with the above mentioned regulations can result in fines up to £5,000 and/or six months imprisonment. Fines have been seen to go as high as £20,000 and offences heard in the Crown Court have carried sentences of more than 2 years imprisonment in additional to unlimited financial penalties. So even though PAT testing itself is not legally required, it simply helps you to protect yourself by ensuring that you are complying with these regulations.

Claims that PAT testing is required by law and that the client is breaking the law by not having it done are simply not true. The law does require however that employers, including self-employed, ensure that all electrical equipment that they provide in their business is safe and properly maintained. This means that PAT testing is a critical part of your company's health and safety and should be considered part of a solution to your safety concerns.

PAT testing provides the most effective way to identify defects that can come with use. Faults in electrical equipment pose a potential hazard, particularly if they are not repaired readily. Even though PAT testing itself is not required by law, the consequences of electrical faults should be considered carefully.

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