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All the information landlords need to meet their legal duties on domestic gas is now available in one place with the launch of a new website.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), with support from the National Landlords Association (NLA), has launched the new microsite as a one-stop-shop to help landlords understand what they should be doing to keep tenants safe in any properties they let.

The website breaks down the information into easy to use sections including repair and maintenance, annual gas safety checks and record keeping as well as giving answers to frequently asked questions.

There are over 6 million rental properties in the UK and an estimated 14 million people living in them.

In 2008/09 15 people died from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning associated with domestic gas appliances, due mainly to gas appliances having been badly fitted or poorly serviced.

HSE and Local Authorities enforce the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 in both domestic and commercial premises which include statutory obligations on landlords to maintain gas appliances that they own.

By law, all landlords are required to arrange for a Gas Safe registered engineer to check all gas appliances and flues within 12 months of being installed and then at least every twelve months. They are also required to complete any necessary maintenance and repairs of gas appliances, flues and pipework.

Peter Brown HSE Head of Work Environment, Radiation and Gas Division said: "Tenants should quite rightly expect that their landlords are taking all necessary steps to ensure that gas appliances are safe. Though there are legal duties on landlords, meeting them shouldn't be an onerous task. The new website provides all the information landlords need in one place."

Recently an Oxfordshire landlord was prosecuted and fined £8000 for failing to ensure gas appliances in his rental property were safe and fit for purpose (http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2010/coi-se-0102barnes.htm.

Another case saw a Cambridgeshire landlord who failed to manage his duties and produced false gas safety records jailed for 16 months (http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2009/coie22.htm.

The NLA welcome the new web site and one member said: "It's really useful to have all information in one place, and linked to a list of Gas Safe registered engineers.'  They also commented that it was important that the information comes from a reliable source such as HSE.

Visit the new website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/landlords

Notes to editors:

1. Regulation 36 (2) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 states: "Every landlord shall ensure that there is maintained in safe condition - (a) any relevant gas fitting and (b) any flue which serves any relevant gas fitting"
2. Regulation 36 (3)(a) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 states: "Without prejudice a landlord shall - (a) ensure that each appliance and flue to which that duty extends is checked for safety within 12 months of being installed and at intervals of not more than 12 months since it was last checked for safety (whether such check was made pursuant to these Regulations or not)."
3. Information for home owners in relation to gas safety can be found on HSE's website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/domestic/faqownerocc.htm
4. Gas Safe Register is the government approved registration scheme for gas engineers in the UK, Isle of Man and Guernsey. The register of 126,000 gas engineers, aims to protect 21 million gas consumers from dangerous gas work. It is a legal requirement for any gas engineering business or self employed gas engineer carrying out domestic or commercial gas work to be registered under the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998. Gas Safe Register assesses the competence of engineers on the register by inspecting a sample of the gas work they carry out to make sure they are safe to work on gas. Gas Safe Register replaced the CORGI gas registration scheme in Great Britain on 1 April 2009 and in Northern Ireland and Guernsey on 1 April 2010 www.GasSafeRegister.co.uk 

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