Home Safety Issues
Gas Safety
Gas Safe Register is the official list of gas engineers who are qualified to work safely and legally on gas appliances. It has replaced CORGI registration. Only a Gas Safe registered engineer should fit, fix or service gas appliances. Landlords have responsibilities for gas safety. By law, your landlord must keep all gas appliances supplied for you to use in good condition. They must arrange for a Gas Safe registered engineer to carry out a gas safety check on them every 12 months and provide you with a copy of the landlord’s gas safety record.
Always:
- Ask for a copy of the landlord’s current gas safety record before you move in. By law, landlords have to give a hard copy to the tenant on or before the move in date.
- Cooperate with your landlord and let a registered engineer in when a gas safety check or servicing has to be done. Remember that this is for your safety!
- Check the ID card of any gas engineer that comes to do work in your home. The engineer must be Gas Safe registered.
If you think a gas appliance is faulty turn it off and let your landlord know immediately. In an emergency call the gas emergency helpline on 0800 111 999. If you feel unwell, seek medical help immediately. Click on the Gas Safe logo link for more info! The Health & Safety Executive has a Gas Safety Advice line on 0800 408 5500 In the event of an emergency call 0800 111 999
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Click on the Gas Safe logo link for more info!
The Health & Safety Executive has a Gas Safety Advice line on
0800 408 5500
In the event of an emergency call
0800 111 999
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Electricity
Rented properties in Wales must (under s6 of the Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation)(Wales) Regulations 2022, be inspected and tested by a qualified and competent person at least every five years. New occupiers must be given a copy of the electrical condition report within 7 days of moving in. If the report required any remedial work, confirmation must also be provided to confirm that it has been done. Where subsequent inspections are carried out after contract holders have moved in, a copy of the inspection report must be provided to contract holders within seven days from the completion of the inspection.
Fire Safety - Furniture and Furnishings
The furniture regulations have been around since 1997. They provide for “all furniture manufactured after 1 January 1950 to be fire retardant and carry the proper labels". This means that furniture and furnishings supplied in let accommodation must comply with the fire and safety requirements in the Regulations. All residential premises including flats, bedsits and houses where furniture is supplied as part of the let are covered by these regulations. The type of furniture covered by the regulations are: any upholstered furniture including chairs, sofas, children's furniture, beds, head boards (if upholstered), mattresses, scatter cushions, seat pads, pillows and even garden furniture if it is upholstered and can be used in the dwelling. Carpets, curtains and duvets are not covered by the regulations.
Carbon Monoxide
If you have gas appliances in your house, Carbon Monoxide is a possible danger.
It's invisible and odourless, but it can kill.
Watch out for...
- Gas flames that burn orange or yellow rather than blue.
- Sooty stains on or around your appliances.
- Solid fuels that burn slowly or go out.
Know the symptoms...
- Unexplained drowsiness.
- Giddiness when standing up.
- Headaches.
- Sickness and Diarrhoea.
- Chest pains.
- Unexplained stomach pains.
Do not confuse these symptoms with hangovers!
Your property must have the following alarms installed
Smoke alarms:
- Throughout the occupation period
- On each storey of the dwelling
- In repair and proper working order
- Connected to the electricity supply and
- Linked to all other smoke alarms
Carbon monoxide alarms:
These must be provided in each room which contains
- a gas appliance
- an oil-fired combustion appliance or
- a solid fuel-burning combustion appliance
However, the rules do not apply to
- a portable or mobile appliance supplied with gas from a cylinder or similar, or
- appliances which belong to contract holders
If your landlord is not compliant with these rules, your property may be deemed to be ‘unfit’.