It may be harder to sell if your house or apartment has a Gas Safety Certificate. The certificate shows that all gas appliances in the building are safe to use. Here are a few easy things you can do to make it more likely that someone will buy your item quickly.
What exactly is a home’s “gas safety certificate”?
If you own a house, apartment, or other property with gas appliances, you are required by law to get a Gas Safety Certificate, whether you own the property outright or are renting it. The certificate will be given by an official, well-known engineer. It will say in plain English that the gas appliances are safe to use. At the very least, the certificate will have your name, address, and the date of the last inspection.
The engineer will check all of the appliances in your home. The certificate will include important information like a list of all gas-powered appliances in the kitchen and other rooms. As well as the results of the inspection, any suggestions for making your appliances safer, and more. The engineer’s job is to ensure that all of the gas lines in your house. Or apartment are securely fastened and linked and that there are no leaks. That could cause serious injury. They will also check the vents in your home to ensure that any extra gasses go outside.
Gas Safety Checks Cost
The engineer will also check for carbon monoxide, an invisible, odorless, and tasteless gas. That can kill if enough of it. A carbon monoxide detector in your home can save your life if there is a leak. Get a new safety check once a year to ensure. Your appliances are in good shape and won’t hurt you or your family. These checks may cost you £50 or more. But they only take an hour of your time and could save your life if a fatal flaw is found.
Since the Gas Safe Register is the only recognized body in the UK to regulate gas engineering work. It only gives these certifications to gas engineers and businesses. That it has checked and found to have up-to-date, relevant credentials. With this in place, you can be sure that any Gas Safety Certificate from reputable businesses will be up to code.
The Gas Safe Register replaced the CORGI as the official registration organization for the gas industry
A Gas Safety Certificate is not required by law to sell a regular house or apartment, which will be explained in this article’s next section. The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, a UK law, says landlords must get certificates for all gas appliances in rental properties.
Before a house can be sold, the law says it must have a gas safety certificate
Even though you don’t need a Gas Safety Certificate to sell a freehold or leasehold property in the UK, having them can make it easier to find a buyer, as we’ll see in the next section.
The law does not require owners of freehold or leasehold properties to get a gas certificate before selling. However, the situation is more complicated for landlords selling rental properties. Landlords are in this group because they let someone use their home for a certain amount of time in exchange for rent. Which can be an excellent way to make extra money.
Whether or not you want to sell your rental property, you need a Gas Safety Certificate if you own a house or apartment that is rented out.
British Gas says that each gas appliance in the rental property has a gas certificate that must renew every year. If you don’t have these certificates on file as a landlord. The safety of your renters is at risk, and you could get fined a lot, neither of which is good.
Problems that come up when a house is sold without a gas safety certificate
It is not against the law to sell a home without a Gas Safety Certificate (unless you are the landlord), but it may be hard to find a buyer. That’s because people who want to buy your apartment or house are wary of the gas appliances. If they can’t be sure they’re safe and don’t have any leaks that haven’t been found yet. Some potential buyers may be so worried about the condition of the appliances. That they decide they no longer want to buy your home.
Possible buyers might be turned off because you can’t give them a Gas Safety Certificate, which puts their minds at ease about the equipment’s safety. It’s also important to know that if you don’t have a gas safety certification. Some mortgage companies may not give a buyer the money they need to buy your home. If the property has appliances that could be dangerous, the lender may have doubts about how safe it is. If the buyer stops making payments and the lender needs to sell the house. Or apartment to get back any money left on the mortgage. The lender may decide that it can’t be sold again.
One problem that only landlords have to deal with is that. It is illegal not to give tenants a gas certificate. Which could lead to jail time and fines of several thousand pounds. The fines that come with not having a Gas Safety Certificate can make it hard to sell a rental property to a buyer who would become the new landlord.