Residents urged to back gas safety proposals

Bath & North East Somerset Council is urging residents to back a campaign which wants to give social landlords extra powers to make sure gas appliances in the properties they own are safe.

Gas Access is calling for the law to be changed so that social landlords, such as housing associations and local authorities, who are legally responsible for the upkeep and safety of gas appliances have the power to force entry to a property to ensure vital repairs can be made to faulty appliances.

It also wants an MOT-style safety check for gas appliances to ensure they are safe and fit for purpose and is calling on residents to back the campaign by visiting the Gas Access Campaign website.

At present although landlords have a legal duty to carry out regular checks to keep boilers and other gas appliances safe, they have no legal right to demand entry and it can take a legal process of up to four months to get to the stage where the landlord has free access to service a boiler.

Cllr Paul Crossley (Lib-Dem, Southdown), Leader of Council, said: “Landlords have a duty to make sure gas appliances are safe, but they are hampered somewhat by the law which does not allow them to gain entry to a property to repair a faulty or potentially lethal boiler.

“Bath & North East Somerset Council agrees with Gas Access that the law needs to be overhauled and reviewed so that landlords can fulfil their statutory duty in this area and protect residents from harm.

“Every year we hear of people dying somewhere in the United Kingdom from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a faulty boiler, this proposal, coupled with annual health checks for gas appliances would go some way to increasing the safety of gas appliances in social housing across our district.”

The Gas Access campaign is led by the Home Group with the Association of Gas Safety Managers and CORGI Technical Services.