To stop DIY gas boiler installations

You must not fit a gas boiler if you are a landlord or private individual if you are not a  current gas safe registered installer, this could prove dangerous to you your family and possible tenants and if caught you may face a jail term and a large fine.  The health and safety executive will be strictly  policing  the latest gas safety regulations and will issue prohibition notices to those caught.

To prevent gas boiler fitters from operating illegally

A plumber who has repeatedly operated illegally as a gas fitter has been jailed for twelve months.  Mr Dalton had been jailed back in two thousand and five but ignored the subsequent warnings and continued to operate as a gas boiler fitter on this occasion he failed to comply with fourteen separate points in relation to gas safety laws.  But in two thousand and seven he installed another gas boiler illegally, when the installation was checked it was found to be faulty and could have resulted in carbon monoxide poisoning.

It appears that illegal gas boiler fitters operate with ease because many customers simply don’t check the gas fitters credentials in one survey in Scotland they found over fifty percent of customers did not check to see if a gas boiler installer was gas safe registered.  It is always important to check a gas fitters qualifications because there are tens of thousands of gas fitters operating illegally in the UK.

To contact a genuine gas safe registered engineer go onto the following

website www.gassaferegister.co.uk phone 0800 408 5500.

What will happen to gas boiler fitters who are being prosecuted during the change over from CORGI to the new Gas Safe Register

Any current complaints will be assigned to the new gas safe register but investigations being undertaken prior to the hand over will be completed by CORGI, local authorities, the police or the health and safety executive

What are the safety implications of not using a gas safe registered installer

Fourteen people were killed in 2008 because of carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of poor gas installations or bad maintenance.  This is why it is so important to get a properly qualified gas boiler installer to carry out the maintenance and installation of all gas appliances.

In your are suspicious that an appliance has not been correctly fitted turn it off and consult a properly qualified gas safe registered engineer

Preventative measures against carbon monoxide poisoning

We suggest that you should fit a carbon monoxide detector and test it at least every month.  This is especially important as carbon monoxide has no smell and you cannot see it.

The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning Pains in the chest, feeling sick, drowsy and feeling unsteady on your feet and headaches.

How does the gas safe register affect landlords

It is a legal obligation (gas safety regulations 1998) for  private and public sector landlords to get any gas appliance tested every year to ensure that it is safe for use by the tenant to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.  The regs also applies to private lodgers, bed sits and holiday lets.  The tests carried out by gas safe registered engineers will pay particular attention to pipe runs, gas appliances and that the flue vents properly. Once these checks are completed the engineer will supply a gas safety certificate to the landlord within 28 days and the landlord will then present this gas safety certificate to the tenant on request.  The safety certificates must be kept for two years!

If a tenant leaves and has left a gas appliance of their own the landlord must also get the  appliance tested by a gas safe registered fitter before he can re let the property to a new tenant

What information will the gas safety certificate contain

• The property address
• The address of the landlord or agent.  A contract between the agent and landlord should stipulate who is responsible for maintenance and gas safety checks
• The date of the inspection of the appliances and there location within the property
• A list of all appliances that are not working properly and any action taken to fix the appliances
• The details of the gas safe registered inspector (post 30 of march 2009) or a corgi registered inspector which should include their name, number and signature
• Confirmation that the inspection meets all 1998 gas safety regulations

How does the new gas safe register body affect my commercial  insurance

Installers need to inform the insurance company that they are now gas safe registered so that their policies can be altered accordingly apart from that the is nothing more the the gas fitter has to do.

How will the new gas safe register be promoted

For consistency gas fitters who are already registered under the old CORGI

scheme will be able to keep their original registration numbers when they

become gas safe registered.

Once registered the gas fitter should receive free stickers for your van

and logos can be downloaded from the internet and printed at your own cost.

Capita will also be promoting the new gas safe register brand at major

shopping locations and they will be placing adverts on television, radio

and in the national press.

Future date for capita promotions

06/06/2009 St Davids Cardiff

13/06/2009 Lakeside Essex

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 21st, 2009 at 10:19 am and is filed under gas safe register. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.