If you are about to sell your house and you don’t have a Gas Safety Certificate, you may be wondering whether you need one to sell.
So can you sell a house without a Gas Safety Certificate? You can sell your house as a home without a Gas Safety Certificate, as the law does not required you to have one. But if you let the property, a Gas Safety Certificate must be issued each year. If you sell the property with tenants you are required to provide one to the purchaser.
Gas Safety Certificates are also known as a landlord’s gas safety check. Landlord’s gas safety checks are required by law. This law applies to any property used as rental accommodation in the UK where gas appliances are present.
Gas safety certificates are regulated by Gas Safety Regulations 1998. These regulations require each gas appliance in the property to be safety checked every 12 months.
Who can issue a gas safety certificate?
Only registered gas safety engineers can carry out a gas safety check. To do so the engineer must be a member of a class of contractors approved by the Health and Safety Executive.
All gas engineers who carry out the gas safety check must be competent to do so and be on the Gas Safety Register.
Who needs a gas safety certificate?
I would suggest that every homeowner that has a gas appliance needs a gas safety certificate to be safe. But all landlords must have a gas safety certificate issued every 12 months on their properties.
Do I need a gas boiler safety certificate to sell my house?
If your home has a gas boiler you don’t need a gas safety certificate to sell your house. But it’s good practice to have an annual inspection and a safety check done for your own safety and so you can provide this to your buyers for their piece of mind too.
But if you property is a buy to let property or and HMO with a gas boiler then you need a gas safety certificate to have tenants in any case. The only way to sell a buy to let property or an HMO property without a gas safety certificate is if your property is no longer let to tenants.
But instead of a gas safety certificate, you will need an boiler installation certificate.
What is a boiler installation certificate?
All gas boilers must have a valid installation certificate at the point of installation. A boiler installation certificate is officially a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate. This certificate is issued via the Gas Safety Register. They will notify your local authority whether the installation complies with Building Regulations.
Which means that only a suitably competent and registered gas engineer can install boilers.
Selling house with no boiler installation certificate
You cannot sell your house without a boiler safety certificate or Building Regulations Compliance Certificate. It’s this certificate that confirms the boiler was installed in accordance with building regulations.
There are two main reasons why gas safety certificates are required.
Reasons why gas safety certificates are required:
1. A gas safety inspection checks for and prevents gas leaks
Gas leaks can cause fires or explosions so as a part of the gas safety check the engineer will visually inspect pipework and do a tightness test to confirm there are no gas leaks.
All safe appliances are designed to burn gas in a controlled way. But a faulty appliance may leak gas and cause a fire or an explosion. This is why the gas engineer checks to confirm the appliance is working safely and without any leaks.
3. A gas safety inspection check for and prevents carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide is a deadly poisonous gas. Carbon Monoxide is particularly dangerous as it can’t be seen. You cannot taste carbon monoxide either. But more importantly, you cannot smell carbon monoxide, so you won’t know it’s in the air. Which means if your appliance is leaking carbon monoxide you won’t actually know.
You or your family could be at risk if any of your gas appliances develop a problem that cause it to produce carbon monoxide.
This is why a gas safety inspection is needed. It is to make sure your appliances aren’t leaking carbon monoxide.
What happens if you don’t have a gas safety certificate?
If you don’t have a gas safety certificate for your gas appliances you are putting yourself and your family at risk of death or injury.
If your property is let to tenants, and if you don’t have a Gas Safety Certificate for the property, not only are you committing an offence, but you are putting your tenants at risk too.
What are the penalties for not having a gas safety certificate?
The penalties for not having a gas safety certificate include a substantial fine and/or imprisonment and it could invalidate your insurance.
A fire or explosion can result from a faulty appliance which hadn’t been safety checked. If this fire or explosion causes a death to one of your tenants, you could be up for manslaughter.
How much is the cost of a gas safety certificate?
The annual cost of a Gas Safety Certificate should be around £60 for a gas safety check for a single gas appliance like a boiler. The cost of the safety certificate will increase for each additional gas appliance in the property, which includes a gas hob or a gas fire.
However, if you pay for an annual maintenance and breakdown cover to service your gas appliances, these contracts normally include an annual service and Gas Safety Check. These annual maintenance contracts usually also cover repair work too.
Video about whether you can sell a house without a gas safety certificate
Conclusion on selling a house without Gas Safety Certificates
The law doesn’t require you to have a Gas Safety Certificate to sell your home. But a homeowner gas safety certificate is recommended for your own safety. A homeowner gas safety certificate will provide you with peace of mind your gas appliances are operating safely without risk of gas or carbon monoxide leaks.
But if the house is let to tenants you are required by law to have an annual Gas Safety Certificate issued each year. An up to date certificate must be provided to the purchaser in this case.
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Article written by Russell Bowyer who has been investing in property since purchasing his first commercial property in the 1990's for his own Chartered Accountancy business. But his first property investment project was to turn an old dilapidated restaurant into a large 5-bed home, which he purchased for £117,500 and sold for £450,000 (to see an "after" photo of the house before it was sold see here: About). Russell owns a number of investment properties, which includes houses, flats and HMO's. More recently he has turned his creative side to investing in property using lease options. His largest lease option deal to date was to acquire 12 properties worth over £2 million for just £12, which means he paid just £1 to acquire each property!
