Conflict between gas supplier and Gas Safe engineer - what to do?

My M-I-L and family own a property which has recently been let. The letting is being handled by an agency and it's through them that the Gas Safety and Electrical Safety checks have been done.

Recently the tenants decided to change Gas/Electricity supplier and, as a result, a new smart meter has been installed. The installers of the smart meter have declared the gas installation to be unsafe, specifically they say the extract hood above the cooker doesn't have enough clearance and there isn't enough ventilation.

The Gas Safety Certificate was only issued a month or two ago so where do we stand on getting this sorted out? The Gas Safe engineer says it's safe but the gas supplier says it's not and has turned the gas off.

Aside from the above conflict and how to sort it out what are the rules (if any specific ones apply) about gas hob installations?

A quick search suggests that the height of an extract hood for a gas hob has a sort of default minimum of 750mm but tha this isn't actually mandatory, if the manufacturer says something else (less or more) then that's the 'right' clearance.

Similarly are there any exact rules about ventilation? It's a fairly typical medium sized kitchen in a modern terraced house. It has what was an outside window and door but these now open into what might be called a conservatory but is really just a small covered (but by no means well insulated) utility areas. It has a hatch (no doors) into the main living area and an internal door into the hall.

We obviously want to get this resolved as quickly (and cheaply) as possible while ensuring that things are safe. I expect the tenants are a bit fed up too!

Reply to
Chris Green
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Since the tenants caused the issue, I think they should be less annoyed. Did they ask permission to change and are there rules in the lease about changing hard items like meters and suppliers? It might well mean having to go back to the old supplier at their expense if the new one is intransigent on this, but as you have a certificate, one might hope that a copy of that to the supplier should resolve it. Brian

Reply to
Brian Gaff (Sofa

OT of course but this does highlight my point about switching energy suppliers (just to save money) and potentially unseen 'issues' that cause unintended consequences (even if they are a positive safety thing)?

Cheers, T i m

Reply to
T i m

Has the gas supplier provided a means by which the supply might be turned on again? Have they disconnected the supply, or just pulled the lever at the meter to shut off the supply? Did they install the smart meter, leave the old one in place, or cap off the supply? If capped off, is that before or after the meter?

The other wrinkle is the meter installer was presumably contracted by the company who sell you the gas, not the gas distributor who own the pipes in the street. The DNO are the ones who handle gas leaks, and I imagine the gas sellers (suppliers) don't actually have any trained gas fitters on the staff. (many of those firms are really paper 'energy traders' rather than getting their hands dirty, subbing out the smart meter fitting)

Given that suppliers probably have no competency in gas fitting, if you have been disconnected outside the property you might need the DNO to help out, and inside you might just need a Gas Safe person to look at the installation and reconnect. You can then go to the supplier and tell them the problem has been rectified.

But the first port of call would be to ask the supplier what needs to be done to make them happy.

Theo (who knows very little about gas installations, I should warn you!)

Reply to
Theo

Really? If you just want to stay with your existing supplier just do so on your standard variable tariff and don't use every negative post about energy as an excuse not to do so.

Millions of people have changed energy suppliers without any such problems. In the vast majority of cases changing suppliers does not require a meter change - no-one comes to your home.

In fact this problem is not about changing energy suppliers but changing gas meters. If you have you gas meter changed with your current supplier the same "safety" checks" will still be preformed to see if your appliances are working afterwards and are safe.

Reply to
alan_m

Through Flipper, I have changed energy suppliers several times. And not one has insisted on a smart meter. Which I don't have.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News

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Reply to
Richard

I have no idea, I'm sort of once removed from the actual issue. I

*think* they have probably just turned the tap off and hung a notice on it but I'm not at all sure.

It's the company who installed the new meter who have said the installation isn't safe, as you say they are paid/contracted by the sellers.

Reply to
Chris Green

But we're not in dispute! It's a dispute between Gas Engineer A and Gas Engineer B, we're just left with the result.

Reply to
Chris Green

The practical course is to get your original engineer back. He can review the issue, and turn the gas back on. Plus, reassure the tenant.

Whether the tenant should pay for this is another matter. Fat chance, IMHO.

Reply to
GB

But the ombudsman may be able to help you. Reading your post, it would seem that neither party is listening to what you are telling them which means you are in dispute with both.

Reply to
Richard

In the group of flats my mother lives in, all the flats had gas fires in the lounges and following a gas safety check sometime back, these were all removed owing to a lack of suitable ventilation. My mother still has a gas boiler but that has a balanced flue and also a gas hob. There was no recommendation that the hob should be removed due to lack of ventilation and since then she has had several gas checks and that has never come up.

You may be right about the minimum height for a cooker hood, I seem to recall that was the case when I installed a hood at the last house which involved removing a section off the hoods chimney cowling. I think most manufacturers recommend that in their installation instructions.

Richard

Reply to
Tricky Dicky

Isn't this two separate unrelated problems?

A lack of ventilation for the gas hob installation (with or without a extractor)

Th extractor fitted too low. Which can easily be verified by looking at the manufacturers installation instructions.

Reply to
alan_m

Actually the tenant is left with the immediate result (no gas) and they brought the situation on themselves from what I see.

Reply to
Andrew

Correct, so how to resolve both/either? I doubt if the manufacturers installation instructions are still around for the extractor, it has been there for quite a few years.

Reply to
Chris Green

Googling suggests 750mm to be the min height above a gas hob, and here's a guide to ventilation requirements:

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HTH

Reply to
Mike

Where installation instructions are unavailable, assume 760mm top clearance

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Reply to
Andy Burns

No it doesn't. You are conflating 2 different issues. You are not /required/ to have a smart meter installed when you switch supplier. You can have a smart meter installed without switching supplier.

Reply to
Robin

Not totally...

The presence of an extract device may inroduce additional ventilation requirements in some cases.

BS 6172:2010 "Specification for installation, servicing and maintenance of domestic gas cooking appliances (2nd and 3rd family gases)" covers this in section 8.6:

"8.6 Where a cooker hood is to be used, both the gas cooker and the hood manufacturer's installation instructions shall be consulted. Where different distances are given from the top of the cooker to the bottom of the cooker hood, the greater of the two specified distances shall be used."

Reply to
John Rumm

even if there are:

"must not be unreasonably withheld"

what possible reason could a LL have for not allowing it

tenants have a statutory right to select their own supplier which overrides terms in tenancies

most agents have stopped putting the clause in because they know it can't be enforced.

Reply to
tim...

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