Gas Servicing
last updated
01/09/2011 11:05
For those of you who have gas appliances such as cookers and heaters, we would like to take this opportunity to remind you of the importance of having these units tested on an annual basis. If they have been supplied and fitted by us, for example, gas boilers, we have a strict legal duty to carry out these checks and will contact you each year to arrange to do this.
Every year, people die in this country from carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of gas appliances and flues that have not been looked after properly. Most of you understand the importance of our contractors visiting each year to carry out this essential work, which usually takes less than an hour. However, in the past, around 50 tenants each year have refused to let our contractors in. This placed themselves, their families and their neighbours at unnecessary risk.
We would prefer to carry out the required annual gas services with the full consent of all our tenants. However we do have the right to enforce access to carry out this work if it becomes necessary. In view of the seriousness of the situation and the potentially life-threatening consequences of any failure on our part to regularly service our gas appliances, we have introduced a policy that will involve enforcing access to the properties of those tenants who do not allow our contractors in to carry out annual gas servicing. This action will always be used as a last resort but there will be no exceptions made where the tenant has continued to refuse access after the normal contact arrangements have been followed.
We would therefore urge those tenants who have previously refused access to reconsider this decision when the next round of service visits are being arranged.
If you would like any more advice or information about this, you can contact our maintenance team on 0845 130 9995
