My gas safety check has slipped my mind and is now overdue - Is this a huge problem?

Question

Answer

As a landlord, you have a common law duty to ensure that any gas installations and appliances within your property are safe, and there are some serious penalties if your fail to do so.

Failure to carry out an annual gas safety check could result in you being convicted for non-compliance, with the standard penalty being a £6,000 fine for each gas item in the property, and even the potential for a 6-month prison sentence.

If you think you are going to find it difficult to remember when you need to carry out a check, you are able to entrust a management company to undertake the annual requirements. You do need to make sure that a comprehensive contract is created that clearly states exactly who is responsible for maintaining the checks and keeping track of the records (which must be maintain for two years).

You are not able to ask your tenants to take responsibility for these important checks