Checking the safety of gas appliances in your Council home

This page gives you useful guidance about your responsibilities and the service you should receive from the Council's gas servicing contractor and engineers.

Why do you need to service the gas appliances in my home?

By law, landlords must maintain all the gas appliances that they have provided for their tenants to use. This includes the gas supply pipes even when no gas appliance is fitted. They must be checked for safety by a CORGI-registered engineer every 12 months.

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What will it cost me?

This service is free to all Woking Borough Council tenants. You should have this important safety check done every year, otherwise you may be putting the safety of yourself and your family at risk.

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What if the service isn't done?

Every year in Great Britain, approximately 30 people die and 200 suffer from carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of faulty gas fires, central heating boilers and other appliances. When gas does not burn properly, carbon monoxide is produced which is poisonous. You are at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning if your gas appliances have not been checked or maintained regularly.

You can't see carbon monoxide. You can't taste it. You can't even smell it. But it can kill without warning in just a matter of hours. You are particularly vulnerable when you are asleep.

The early symptoms of poisoning include:

  • tiredness
  • drowsiness
  • headache
  • chest pain 
  • stomach pains.

If you feel unwell, and you think your symptoms are related to carbon monoxide, you should immediately go to the accident and emergency department at your nearest hospital or dial 999.

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What will the engineer do on a yearly service visit?

The yearly service and safety check usually takes less than an hour. The engineer will:

  • Test the gas supply pipes for leaks.

  • Make sure that each appliance has enough ventilation to work properly (the engineer will remove any blockage, or turn off the appliance until repair work can be carried out).

  • Strip and clean the boiler and check that it is working efficiently.

  • Inspect all radiators.

  • Inspect the hot water cylinder, if there is one.

  • Check that the heating and hot water controls are working and, if necessary, reset them to suit your needs.

  • Offer to visually inspect any other gas appliances of your own at no charge, for example, your gas cooker.                                                                               

  • Check the smoke alarms, if fitted.                                  

  • Check the carbon monoxide detector, if fitted.

Afterwards, we will leave you a copy of the gas safety report. You will be asked to sign this as a record that we have completed the work. If any more work is needed, the engineer will tell you the details.

Our engineers all carry proof of identity that they will show you before entering your home. If they do not do so, you have the right to refuse to let them in. We will treat your home with respect, cause the minimum of disruption and clean up afterwards.

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How do I arrange all this?

To arrange your service simply phone Quadron on 0800 9803382. Alternatively, Quadron  will write to you a couple of months before the expiry date of your last gas safety check telling you when they will visit you. If the suggested date and time is not convenient, you must contact them to make another appointment.

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What happens if I miss the appointment?

If you miss this appointment we will start landlord action to get into your home as you will be in breach of your tenancy agreement. We will force entry to your home and change the locks. You will be liable for all these costs. This means you could have to pay up to £200.

Remember:

  • By law, you must let us into your home.

  • It is in the interest of your safety.

  • This service is free.

  • The safety check takes less than an hour.

  • It helps us make sure that your boiler is working properly.

  • We will take landlord action if you don't let us into your home to carry out the safety check. This will cost you up to £200.

We're serious about this - why don't you be as well?

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What if there is a gas escape?

If you can smell gas or fumes, you should:

  • turn off the gas supply at the meter

  • put out all flames

  • not smoke

  • not use any electrical switches, phones or mobiles

  • air the building by opening doors and windows

  • make sure there is access to your property

  • leave the property if the smell continues.

Then phone Transco, the emergency gas service, on freephone 0800 111 999.

Once you have phoned Transco, please report the problem to our Woking Repairs Service on 0800 5215555. You can also use this number to report a problem outside normal office hours. We will then take follow up action where necessary.

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What should I do to keep safe?

Never use a gas appliance if you think it's not working properly. Signs that could mean an appliance is not working properly include:

  • a yellow or orange flames
  • soot or stains around the appliance 
  • a pilot lights which often blows out.

Never interfere with your boiler or try to take off its cover.

Never cover an appliance or block the air vent.

Never block any fixed ventilation grilles or air bricks.

Never block or cover outside flues.

Always get permission for any improvement that will affect a room containing a gas appliance.

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Contact us

If you would like more information about gas safety, contact the Woking Repairs Service on 0800 521555, email us at WokingRepairsService@woking.gov.uk or write to the following address:

  • Unit 14a
    Monument Way East
    Woking
    Surrey
    GU21 5LY