n England and Wales all gas boiler installations, along with any other heat producing appliances like a fire, need to be registered at the Local Authority to meet with Building Regulations – it is illegal to install a boiler or a heating appliance into a property without a building regulations certificate.
As the owner of the property, the responsibility falls upon you to ensure that Building Regulations are complied with when installing a boiler or gas appliance, so follow this guide to make sure you are covered when a new gas appliance is installed into your home.
Notifying the Local Authorities
According to the Building Regulations and Gas Safe rules of registration it is a legal requirement to notify your local authorities that you are having a boiler or gas appliance installed into your home.
When looking to get your boiler installed you should be using a gas safe registered business and engineer. The gas safe registered business will comply with their geographical area regulations by notifying (i.e. self-certifying) any relevant appliances they’ve installed to the Local Authorities for you.
Check My Boiler Has Been Notified
To check your boiler has been notified to the local authorities you need to search the gas safe register database and check for notified appliances by entering the properties address. This task must be completed prior to seeing whether a duplicate installation/building regulations certificate is available to order.
If you are unable to find your notification from search results, please speak to your installer and ask them to notify the installed appliance.
Boiler Installation Certificate
Once the boiler installation has been completed and the local authorities have been notified a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate should arrive via the post within 10-15 working days from the gas safe registered business stating that this boiler has been installed complying with all building regulations.
As this certificate belongs to the property, it is essential that you keep this certificate in a safe place as it will be needed if you decide to re-mortgage the property or decide to sell your home as the document needs to be passed on to the next owner.
Buying A New Home With No Boiler Installation Certificate?
When buying a new home, it is important to check that the boiler of the property and other gas appliances have a building regulations compliance certificate and have had gas safety checks in the past 12 months.
Even though it is a legal requirement to have your boiler and gas appliances certified and checked by registered gas safe engineers, some sellers decide to cut corners to save on cost or because they don’t know it is illegal.
If your seller does not have a boiler certificate there are two options available:
The seller can pay for a Gas Safe registered engineer to inspect the installation of the boiler and either; sign off the installation of the boiler as it meets the regulations in place or will make the necessary changes to the boiler so it complies with the regulations standards and then sign off the installation. As a result, the property will receive a retrospective Building Regulation Compliance Certificate.
If the seller of the property decides to not get a Gas Safe registered engineer to inspect and make the necessary installations to the boiler, the buyer can take out a boiler indemnity policy that protects them against losses for the local authority enforcing the removal of the boiler. However, the indemnity policy doesn’t cover for costs to install a new boiler. To be protected by indemnity insurance the cost ranges from £180 to £500.
When a registered gas engineer has completed a gas safety check in your home, they will record all of the checks they have carried out on a form. This is the Gas Safety Record, and it will list all of the appliances and fittings they have checked in the property.
When renting a property from a private landlord, the council, a housing association, student accommodation or any other landlord, they should provide you with a copy of the record within 28 days of the check being completed. If you are a new tenant, you should expect to be given a copy of the latest record upon moving into the residency. Find out more information on Gas Safety Records.
If you do not receive a Gas Safety Record from your landlord for your current property, you need to ask your landlord for this document. If they fail to do so, you need to report them to the HSE, because failing to follow gas safety requirements is a criminal offence and the HSE has the power to issue a formal caution and may prosecute your landlord.
As a student you are like any other tenant in that your landlord needs to ensure that any gas appliances in the property are safe for you to use. It’s unlikely gas safety is at the top of your priorities, but know your rights and the warning signs of carbon monoxide poisoning – it may just save your life one day.
The six symptoms of carbon monoxide (headache, muscle weakness, dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath, confusion, blurred vision, and loss of consciousness) can be mistaken for a hangover. To avoid this request for an audible carbon monoxide alarm with your landlord or you can buy a battery operated one at a DIY store. Usually the same cost of a good night out.
If you have any gas safety questions feel free to get in touch with us here.
