More home owners than tenant die from accidental CO poisoning, from using gas in their own homes. Ok the number of fatalities is small but many more people suffer from ill health because of faulty gas products. So if there is mysterious ill health and headaches in your house it is worth having a gas safety check.
All landlords are supposed to pay for safety checks in their rented houses. Why not home owners – well home owners don’t really need a safety inspection and inspection report if they have all their gas appliances serviced. So if you can afford to have everything serviced – that is what you should do.
Note a safety check is not the same as having appliances serviced. How much will it cost? I don’t know – piece of string springs to mind. I can tell you that a safety check AND service could cost about £100 to £150 depending how many different gas appliances you have in the house and it will take at least an hour.
The really good news is – if you can’t afford to have everything serviced AND you are on means tested benefits you MIGHT be entitled to have a free gas safety check – so at least you know you’re safe.
Apply to the company that supply you your gas.
In 2011 more than 35,000 such Free Gas Safety Checks were done according to Domestic suppliers’ social obligations: 2011 annual report. Here:
To be eligible:
Suppliers are obliged under their licence conditions to provide a free gas in receipt of means tested benefits
AND
have children under 5 years old,
OR
domestic consumers who are of pensionable age, have a disability or a chronic
sickness, living alone or living with others of pensionable age, disabled, under 18 or chronically sick.
I copied that from OFGEM – I’m not sure I understood it either!
Basically you can get a free check if you are eligible to go on the suppliers’ Priority Services Register. Contact them and ask them, you have nothing to lose.
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