Unsafe gas appliances have been found in a fifth (21%) of privately-rented accommodation, leading Gas Safe Register to believe that more than 2.7million people could be living in dangerous housing.
Data spanning five years by Gas Safe Register reveals that gas heaters are the most dangerous appliance in rented accommodation, accounting for the majority (59%) of all unsafe appliances.
A fifth of renters (19%) are unaware their boiler should be safety checked annually, and half of this group (11%) don’t think their boiler has been inspected this year.
Despite landlords being responsible for ensuring that all gas appliances provided by them are safety checked every year by a qualified Gas Safe registered engineer, more than a third (37%) are unaware of their duty of care. In fact, one in seven landlords (15%) think gas appliance safety is the responsibility of their local council.
Jonathan Samuel, managing director for Gas Safe Register, said: “Gas safety can be a matter of life or death. The findings from the 122,000 inspections carried out over the last five years show us that more unsafe appliances have been found in rented accommodation than in privately owned homes.
“We are urging renters, homeowners and landlords alike to make sure they know to get gas appliances checked on an annual basis and, as a legal requirement, to ‘trust the triangle’ by using a Gas Safe registered engineer.”
Independent expert, Dominic Littlewood, added: “With winter fast approaching, more and more people will be switching on their central heating. If they are not properly maintained, they can kill.
“It is the law for every landlord in the country to get an annual check to make sure their tenants are gas safe, but whoever you are and wherever you live, gas safety should be on your radar. Get your gas appliances checked every year – the only way to do this within the law is to use an appropriately qualified Gas Safe registered engineer. Be safe as well as warm this winter.”
Homeowners are also confused about where responsibility lies in ensuring their household appliances are ‘gas safe’.
Only half (49%) of homeowners realise it is their responsibility, while one in seven (14%) viewing gas safety as within the remit of the gas provider.