03/04/2020
In light of COVID-19 and the unprecedented effect it’s having on everybody’s lives, we thought you might appreciate a clear update on the government guidelines concerning gas engineering work.
The information contained in this email is taken from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government’s Guidance for Landlords and Tenants document (pdf), and Gas Safe Register’s COVID-19 advice page.
We’ve tried to summarise the most important takeaways from both sources for you down below.
"In the case of customers who own their own homes, the advice is to continue regular services and maintenance as normal as long as your engineers are comfortable doing so. The government advises that when carrying out these works, engineers should be sure to maintain the minimum 2m social distance from occupants of the household to ensure everyone's safety. If somebody in the household is self-isolating due to COVID-19 symptoms, or if somebody in the household is being shielded due to high risk (e.g. sufferers of asthma or diabetes, or the very elderly), the work should not be carried out. No work should be carried out by a tradesperson who has coronavirus symptoms, however mild.
Landlords’ repair obligations have not changed and they are expected, to the best of their ability, to uphold Gas Safe standards by ensuring an annual boiler service and essential maintenance is still carried out on their owned properties as needed. This is the landlord’s responsibility, not yours; while you can accept the work, you are not held legally responsible if it cannot be carried out due to safety concerns. We suggest informing your customers, especially landlords, that a boiler service can be carried out anywhere up to 60 days before the due date; where possible, it may be sensible to act on this and carry out services early in case the situation worsens."
We hope this information is helpful to you and that you, your friends, and your family are staying safe and healthy.
Jim and Stuart