Landlord check situation today

[diamondgas]

You right, but I am sure that flues to be checked are the ones for appliances owned by Landlord. If chimney should not be in use at all, but tenant had connect appliance to it he is responsible for flue and gas connection.
This is what I have been taught.
I think that small leak would be trough gas control knobs as it is old cooker.

TB055 - "A2 ...Flues serving tenant's own appliances are not covered under GSIUR" It does then go on about HSE and duty of care regards a chimney should be maintained in a condition 'fit for purpose'. It would be up to a court to decide should something occur.

Like me some of you may have large old victorian properties that may have 10-12 Chimneys with various plant arrangements sitting in front of them. They may be behind closed doors, cupboards or even be bricked over. This sounds to me like the governing bodies covering their backsides and placing the onus back towards us and/or the Landlord! However I stand corrected, all those five fires I mentioned belonging to the tenant should be checked with the landlords permission or noted otherwise should permission not be granted 🙂 End of the day I'd put the onus back onto the person responsible for the appliances and/or property!

Just last month I found a gas fire in a tenanted property that I'd been carrying out the safety check on for the past 3 years. Previously didn't know it existed. A change of tenancy meant that whatever the previous tenant had covered the fireplace with no longer existed and the fire was there for all to see! Neither the letting agent nor the landlord said anything regards this fire being installed. I capped it off as it was a well knackered DGF without ventilation!!!

 

[diamondgas]

Okay so just to confuse you here's what HSE website stated regards flues ---
[h=2]"What’s not covered?[/h]Appliances owned by the tenant; flues or chimneys solely connected to an appliance owned by the tenant." see Maintenance ? gas appliances and flues .....

So I'm not gonna check those 5 fires after all and take back what I said about being correctred :lol: How confusing is that! Gas Safe TB says according to HSE they should, HSE says they are not covered!!!

I'm going to work!!!

 

[CMairiD]

Don't get too happy, diamond. 🙂 Look what the HSE also has to say under 'What gas appliances do I have responsibility for' ...

It is also recommended to include all flues (e.g. chimneys) connected to gas appliances within your landlord's gas safety check, even where they do not serve appliances provided by the landlord. This may also help to fulfil other legal duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

Gas safety - landlords and letting agents

Makes perfect sense to me. The landlord has a duty to maintain the fabric of the building. If he/she then allows a tenant to connect to that fabric, the flue is his to ensure that it's safe.

GSIUR doesn't impose this duty, HSAW Act does.

 

[diamondgas]

Thankfully it says recommended and not a must or shall CMairiD 🙂 As a landlord I'd have it in the signed contract that no gas fires are to be installed without their permission! As a Landlord you could have bricked up your flues but that doesn't stop your tenant opening them back up!

As far as the Safety Certificate goes though I believe that as long as you are made aware that the appliance exists then you mark it down as tenants own, visual inspection only! It's a can'o'worms though !!! 🙂

 

[Millsy 82]

Oh I love all these grey areas. Gas safe say 1 thing HSE say something else. If you were to get prosecuted though isnt it HSE that do it so wouldnt it be better to follow there guidelines or is just landlords and agencies that HSE prosecute.

I'm now completely confused luckily most of the agencies that we do work for dont allow tenants to put appliances in apart from cookers and they dont take long to check over