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Industry group launches campaign to extend gas safety certificates to prevent two million interactions
The Association of Safety and Compliance Professionals (ASCP) has launched a campaign urging government to suspend all non-essential gas safety checks by at least three months in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
The group, whose 800 members are responsible for gas safety in 2.5 million social homes, also called for a “light touch” approach to non-compliance by the Regulator of Social Housing for the rest of the year.
In a letter to members Claire Heyes, chief executive of ASCP, said: “I am aware that in the coming weeks nearly all housing associations, local authorities and ALMOs will become non-compliant and that you are all under a tremendous amount of pressure.”
ASCP estimated that there are 666,667 regulatory routine gas safety checks due to take place in the next eight weeks and with an average of two tenants and an engineer, this equates to two million unnecessary social interactions over the period.
With engineers visiting an average of six to eight properties a day, there is a risk of breaching government guidance on social distancing and therefore continuing the spread of COVID-19.
ASCP said: “The government has provided guidance on this matter, which is not conclusive and firmly puts the choice of compliance or COVID-19 contagion on the landlord to determine priorities, most of whom are focused on compliance with their governing regulators and now face this dilemma.”
Government guidance notes that landlords must show they have taken “all reasonable steps to comply with the law” around gas safety. However, ASCP said it is waiting on a response from the Health and Safety Executive to provide examples of “reasonable steps”.
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The organisations has urged its members – including housing associations, local authorities and ALMOs – to write to their local MPs for support.
ASCP noted some key issues for carrying out gas safety checks during the pandemic, including:
- Inability to gain access due to self-isolating tenants
- Unwillingness to allow access due to government guidance
- Many social housing tenants being over the age of 70
- Lack of resources of housing providers due to illness and self-isolation
- Lack of personal protective equipment
- Compliance team driving gas installers to gain access in order to remain compliant
The group has written to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to ask for a three-month extension but noted a six-month extension would be more practical to deal with backlogs.
Residents should have the right to request gas safety checks when they are due, providing a risk assessment has been carried out, ASCP said.
A separate petition to delay checks, launched by individuals, has gained more than 10,000 signatures in the past week.
Inside Housing has also spoken to individual associations that have been pressuring the government to look again at the rules around annual gas safety checks.
Last week the Health and Safety Executive said there are no current plans to introduce changes to legal requirements, such as an extension to the time period for landlord gas safety checks.
