The main task in a Landlord Gas Safety Check is to make sure that the property is safe to live in. If it’s safe then a certificate will be issued, if it’s not safe then either the situation will have to be rectified and/or the gas or appliance disconnected or shut off. The procedure is roughly as follows:

• arrive at property
• immediately start looking at flue locations and how high or how close to an opening door, widow or air brick, etc
• visual on chimneys and brick work and type of terminals
• location of outside gas meter
• enter property and ascertain what gas appliances are installed and then have a look to make sure they are switched off and that pilots are extinguished
• locate the gas meter and undertake a soundness check (to make sure gas is not leaking into the property from the main gas valve and make sure gas isn’t leaking inside the property from the pipe work), check that the gas pipe is earthed to the house electrics, make sure that pipe work is labelled GAS and check that the Meter Control Valve is labelled correctly so that the home owner/renter knows which way to turn the gas valve off in the event of emergency
• if all is safe then it’s time to check each appliance and I always start with cookers
• check the cooker or hob to make sure that the rings are working properly and that the flame picture (the look of the flame) is correct (blue flame with sharp crisp edges and not orange), if there is a cooker and a grill the same test is completed, all safety devices are also checked (if installed) to make sure that the gas is shut off automatically in the event of flame failure, also all controls are checked to make sure that they are working properly, gas hoses and/or gas isolation valves are visually checked for correct location, wear or damage to hoses, etc
• the boiler is my next visit. I do a visual on the pipe work, looking for things like earthing straps, correct fitting of pipe work, I also look for signs of leakage around the boiler, correct fitting of condensate pipe work and pressure relief valve pipe work, the flue connection and the make sure that the boiler is secure (really, I’ve seen a couple of boilers that were being held up by the pipe work only!) (and I’ve also seen a flue that had no brick work around it, just a big hole in the wall with a bit of fibreglass insulation stuffed around it!), fire up the boiler and see how much gas it’s burning and compare it to the manufacturers specifications, check the gas pressure at the appliance and check to make sure the safety device(s) are working correctly
• PLEASE NOTE – gas fire checks. Gas fire checks should also include a flue flow test whereby a smoke capsule is inserted into the flue and then the property is checked for signs that smoke has leaked through the brickwork due to bad mortar or cracked bricks. The entire length of the flue must be checked from bottom to top and yes that means up in the loft too and also outside to see that smoke is coming from the terminal only and not around the brickwork

• the gas fire then needs to be removed and the flue plate removed in order to physically and visually check the inside of the flue (I have found one fire that still had an old flue damper installed and was not wedged open – it could have popped close at any time causing certain death to the home owner!). If the catchment space behind the fire is clean and the flue is in good condition then the flue plate can be re-sealed and the fire re-installed. Now the fire needs to be checked to make sure that the fire is burning correctly (visual checks for flame picture and a smoke match is lit to visually see that the flue is working correctly and that no smoke is entering back into the room) (this test is done with all doors and windows closed and any fans on and running and if the fan is reversible the test needs to be done again with the fan running in reverse), safety device is tested next.

• the average property takes from 30-45 minutes to complete – maybe longer depending on the type of gas fire

• if all of the above tests pass then a certificate will be issued with my signature on it stating that the property is safe

• if any of the tests fail then depending on what failed and what reason the result could be to disable the appliance or it could be as major as replacing the faulty appliance

So consider for a moment the gas engineer who runs through a property in as little as fifteen minutes…

… to test a boiler, cooker and a gas fire. I know of two properties where the CORGI Registered engineer didn’t undertake a flue flow or spillage test for the gas fires and one site where the engineer didn’t even look at the gas meter!

DON’T play Russian roulette with the lives of your tenants. If someone is killed because you didn’t check properly you will have BIG problems. Get the checks done and ask questions about exactly what was tested.

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