Many people die every year in the UK from badly installed/poorly maintained gas appliances. The gas safety regulations of 1998 mandate all landlords and owners of properties to ensure that the gas appliances in their properties are safe and won’t cause harm to tenants. Landlords or their agents are responsible for the maintenance and inspection of all gas appliances on the property.
They are to ensure that all gas appliances are in good, safe, and working condition. This regulation does not only apply to private properties but also properties occupied by commercial tenants. As a landlord, you will need to hire a gas safe registered engineer who will carry out gas safety checks on the property and then issue a commercial gas safety certificate for the property.
Are there any consequences for not having a commercial gas safety certificate?
The issue of commercial gas safety certificates is a very serious one. If you do not have a commercial gas certificate, you should get one for your property. If you default in getting one for the property, you can be fined huge sums of money that can take a toll on your finances. If a faulty gas appliance causes harm or death to tenants or visitors, charges for manslaughter can be brought against you and if the suit is successful, you can be imprisoned.
You should know that non-compliance with the laws governing commercial gas safety certificate is a criminal offence and the courts can penalise you with fines as well as custodial sentences. Your property insurance can also be nullified and tenants can bring civil lawsuits against you claiming damages. Precedent has shown that the courts usually award high damages to deserving victims.
You can easily avoid all these by hiring a competent gas-safe engineer who will carry out the gas safety check and then issue the gas safety certificate for the property.
How much does a commercial gas safety certificate cost?
There is no fixed price for a commercial gas safety certificate. This is because there is no national organisation that regulates the cost of gas safety certificates. The price of a commercial gas safety certificate varies from one gas engineer to another and it is dependent on the number of gas appliances you have on your property as well as how large the property is.
You will not expect a property with fewer gas appliances to cost the same as a property with more gas appliances. However, when budgeting for a gas certificate you should expect to pay anything between £30 and £150.
What does a commercial gas safety certificate entail?
Now that you know how important a gas safety certificate is, we will explain what it involves.
A Gas Safety Certificate can only be drafted and issued by a gas safe registered engineer. Any regular gas engineer cannot issue a gas safety certificate. The engineer will need to come over and conduct a series of tests on the different gas appliances. After a gas appliance is tested it will be isolated for a period of time so that it can be observed properly by the engineer.
After the gas safe engineer is through with the tests, he will then issue you the gas safety certificate. The certificate will outline all the checks the engineer conducted on the property, any faulty gas appliance on the property as well as recommended repairs that need to be done on the property. The gas safety certificate will generally provide information on all appliances that are in good and safe working condition. It will also state when the next safety check should be done on the property. Gas safety checks should be done once every year to ensure the safety of tenants.
Responsibilities of a landlord in relation to commercial gas safety certificate.
As a landlord, you are responsible for the annual gas safety checks that are to be done every year. After the gas safety check is complete, you are obligated to give a copy of the gas safety certificate to every existing tenant within 28 days. If there is a new tenant, you are expected to give him a copy of the certificate before he moves into the property. If you have assigned the management of your property to an agent, be sure that the contract clearly states who will be responsible for the annual gas safety checks.
What sort of information can I find on the commercial gas safety certificate?
Your commercial gas safety certificate should include the following:
- A detailed description of each gas appliance checked and where it is located on the property.
- The name, signature, and registration number of the gas safe engineer that conducted the gas safety check.
- The date the gas safety check was carried out as well as the address of the property.
- The name of the landlord and his address.
- Any identified faults and suggestions for remedial repairs.
Types of commercial gas safety certificate.
Commercial gas safety certificate is of different types. You should know what each type represents so that you’d know which one best suit your business.
- Industry landlords’ certificate (CP2) – gas certificates for motorhomes and caravans.
- Plant commissioning certificate (CP15) – gas certificates for boilers and flues.
- Gas testing/purging certificate (CP16) – commercial gas certificates for gas pipes.
- Commercial gas safety Installation certificate – (CP17).
