Gas, Oil and Electricity Safety
Making sure your holiday home is airtight when it comes to gas, oil and electrical safety is absolutely essential. We've included some useful information below to help you understand exactly what you need to do to ensure your property is as safe as possible, with links to professional sites and companies who can help you conduct safety checks. We also offer Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) and other safety checks in our property management services.
Gas Safety
It is important to identify each gas operated appliance in your holiday home, as each appliance comes with a range of associated risks.
To help you limit the risks associated with gas appliances, our property management services can help guide you through gas safety measures, but it is also useful to know that a gas inspection must be undertaken by a Gas Safety Engineer every year.
Once passed, you will be issued with a certificate that must be always displayed in the property. Our property services team can put you in touch with a local Gas Safety Engineer
Useful Contacts
The Gas Safe advice line:
Tel: 0800 300 363
Find a local Gas Safe engineer:
www.gassaferegister.co.uk
Gas emergency line:
Tel: 0800 111 999
Health & Safety Executive (HSE) gas safety guidance:
www.hse.gov.uk/gas
Oil Safety
Although oil appliances in homes of any kind are less common than gas appliances, homeowners should be aware of the carbon monoxide risks associated with oil appliances.
If you do have oil appliances in your home, we recommend you obtain an Oil Safety Certificate from an OFTEC Registered Engineer.
Useful Contacts
Oil Storage Container Regulations:
Oil storage regulations (gov.uk).
Find a local OFTEC engineer:
www.oftec.co.uk
Electrical Safety
Unlike gas safety, there is no legal requirement to get an Electrical Safety Certificate for a holiday home.
However, you are required, by law, to ensure that all electrical appliances, circuits and fixed installations within the property are safe and are not hazardous to guests. Therefore, we still highly recommend that you get a qualified electrician to assess your electrical safety before you open your property to guests.
Again, our friendly local teams are more than happy to help you get in touch with a qualified electrician. Just like all aspects of safety, it is always better to be safe than sorry, so periodic inspections are recommended, and you should also make sure that all electrical appliances comply with safety standards.
Useful Contacts
Electrical Saftey First:
Periodic Inspection Explained
Portable Appliance Testing (PAT)
In simple terms, Portable Appliance Testing is the examination of equipment that uses a flexible cable or plug, to ensure it is safe to use. Testing should be undertaken by a qualified electrician prior to holiday letting and all electrical appliances should be visually inspected for damage between each letting.
If you opt for our fully manged services package, we can take charge of arranging PAT testing for you.
Useful Contacts
Health & Safety Executive (HSE) PAT Testings FAQs:
HSE website.
Health & Safety Executive (HSE) Guide to electrical Safety:
HSE guide to electrical safety.
This article was published on 18-May-22
Disclaimer: At the time of publishing, The Original Cottage Company Limited has taken all reasonable care to ensure that the information contained in this guide is accurate. However, no warranty or representation is given that the information is complete or free from errors or inaccuracies. This guide contains general information about laws applicable to holiday properties. This information is not advice and should not be treated as such. Compliance with legislation is the responsibility of the holiday property owner and The Original Cottage Company Limited assumes no liability in this regard. This guide is not intended to be a definitive statement of the law in England & Wales. If you require precise or more detailed information regarding financial, legal and tax legalisation we recommend you seek professional advice.
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