Gas Safe Notifications

In April 2005, the Building Regulations for England and Wales changed in some very important ways.
Research showed that faulty gas appliances are responsible for a number of deaths and injuries that occur in the home. In order to reduce this risk Gas Work Notification has been introduced to increase safety standards making your home a safer place and making it more difficult for unqualified installers to continue working.

The new regulations stipulate that when a gas appliance in a residential property is renewed or exchanged, the work must be notified to building control which, under normal circumstances would involve a delay in carrying out the work and extra costs. To avoid the lengthy and costly process of notifying building control the Government introduced the Competent Persons Schemes allowing individuals and businesses to self-certify that their work complies with the Building Regulations.

In order to self-certify an engineer must prove competence and register with an approved Competent Persons Scheme (such as Gas Safe Register). The scheme provider may periodically carry out spot checks on installations to confirm compliance.

For electrical works engineers should be Building Regulations Part ‘P’ Compliant, carry £2million Public Liability Insurance and offer an insurance backed Workmanship Warranty.

When a new or replacement installation has taken place, the Gas Safe registered engineer must notify the Competent Persons Scheme provider (e.g Gas Safe Register) that the work has been carried out and the CPS provider will issue the homeowner with a ‘Declaration of Safety’ or ‘Building Regulations Compliance Certificate’ confirming that the work has been carried out by a competent Gas Safe registered installer and that the installation meets the requirements of the relevant Gas/Electric/Water/Building Regulations and good practice.

Remember – Please ask for the Gas Safe Register identity card of anyone working on your gas appliances or controls