Gas engineers and plumbers in Leeds: Gas Safe, the ID card, by area

Who may work on gas

Regulation 3 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 says no person shall carry out any work in relation to a gas fitting or gas storage vessel unless he is competent to do so, and that no employer may allow an employee, and no self-employed person may themselves, carry out such work unless the business is a member of a class of persons approved by the Health and Safety Executive. HSE says the Gas Safe Register maintains the register of businesses and operatives who are competent to undertake gas work in Great Britain, and that under the Regulations a gas engineering business must be on the Gas Safe Register to legally undertake gas work within their scope. The Register was launched on 1 April 2009, replacing the CORGI scheme, and the Regulations also say no person shall falsely pretend to be registered.

In HSE’s words, anyone employed to work on gas appliances in domestic premises must be a Gas Safe registered engineer and competent in that area of gas work. The rule is about gas fittings: appliances such as boilers, cookers and gas fires, the pipework and the flues. Work on water pipework, taps and bathrooms is plumbing, not gas work, so a plumber needs to be on the Gas Safe Register only for the gas part of a job, such as a boiler. HSE adds that moving a free-standing cooker on a bayonet fitting temporarily, to clean the space it occupies, is not work under the Regulations, but any other installation or reinstallation is gas work for a registered engineer.

The ID card, and how to check it

HSE says Gas Safe registered engineers carry an identity card, which consumers are encouraged to ask for before they have gas work carried out in their home. The front of the card has a photograph, a registration number and an expiry date; the reverse shows the different categories of work the engineer is qualified to undertake, for example cookers, boilers and gas fires. HSE’s advice is to check that the engineer is competent in the specific area of gas work you need, which is marked on the back of the card.

To check an engineer or a business, HSE says you can ring the Gas Safe Register on 0800 408 5500 or use its website, where the Find an Engineer service searches by postcode and the Check an Engineer service takes the licence number from the engineer’s ID card. If you suspect someone is working on gas appliances without being registered, HSE says you can report it to the Gas Safe Register through its website.

On Gablevale, a listing says “Gas Safe number given” only where the business’s own website states its registration number. That is the business’s statement, not a check by us: Gablevale checks that each business is an active company on the Companies House register, and nothing else. Check the number on the Gas Safe Register before work starts.

Boiler and heating engineers by area

Every boiler and heating engineer listed on Gablevale, by the area it names, with the features its own website states. A business that names no part of Leeds is listed across Leeds.

North-west Leeds: Horsforth, Guiseley, Yeadon, Otley and Adel

Heating engineers and plumbers in the LS16, LS18, LS19, LS20 and LS21 postcode districts, which take in Adel, Bramhope, Cookridge, Horsforth, Rawdon, Yeadon, Guiseley and Otley, in their own words.

Emergency call-outs

Heating engineers and plumbers whose websites say they take emergency call-outs or answer 24 hours a day, with the features each states. HSE says it is illegal for anyone to use a gas appliance they suspect is unsafe: turn it off and do not touch it until a Gas Safe registered engineer has checked it, and for a gas emergency call National Grid’s freephone number, 0800 111 999. A business’s own hours, where it publishes them, are on its listing.

Plumbers by area

Every plumber listed on Gablevale, with the features its own website states. Where a plumber also offers boiler or gas work, the Gas Safe rules above apply to that part of the job.

Servicing, and a new boiler

HSE strongly advises that all gas appliances, flues and pipework should be installed, regularly maintained and serviced at least annually by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and that appliances and flues are checked for safety at least once every 12 months.

Installing or replacing a heating system, and adding radiators to one, are on gov.uk’s list of work that may need building regulations approval. gov.uk says you do not need to get approval yourself if you use someone registered with a competent person scheme, and its list of schemes names the Gas Safe Register for gas appliances and for heating and hot water systems, noting that the Register is not technically a competent person scheme but that its installers have the same responsibilities for complying with the Building Regulations. A registered installer tells the council about the work on your behalf where needed and gives you a certificate within 8 weeks of completion, which gov.uk says can be used as evidence of compliance and shows up in solicitors’ searches when you sell. gov.uk also says you do not need advance approval for emergency repairs to a boiler or heating system, but there are rules the work must follow.

The Planning Portal says planning permission is not normally required to install or replace a boiler or heating system if all the work is internal. A new flue outside is normally permitted development if it does not reach one metre or more above the highest part of the roof, with a check advised for listed buildings and conservation areas.

If you rent: the annual gas safety check

gov.uk says a landlord must make sure gas equipment they supply is safely installed and maintained by a Gas Safe registered engineer, have a registered engineer do an annual gas safety check on each appliance and flue, and give the tenant a copy of the gas safety check record before they move in or within 28 days of the check. Regulation 36 of the 1998 Regulations sets the interval at not more than 12 months, requires the record to give the engineer’s name, signature and registration number, and says the landlord must keep it until there have been two further checks. HSE says landlords must only use a Gas Safe registered engineer for this work.

Businesses whose websites say they work for landlords, with the lowest price each publishes and what it is for. Some price the landlord gas safety record first, others a boiler service; read what a price covers before comparing, and whether it includes VAT.

Published prices

The lowest price each heating engineer or plumber publishes on its own website, and what it buys: a call-out, a boiler service or a gas safety record. Where a business publishes none, the listing says to ask for a quote.

Before you pay

Gablevale checks that every business listed is an active company on the Companies House register, and shows its number; it doesn’t check the work. Our guide to what to check before paying a tradesperson covers the company record, insurance, written quotes, the 14-day right to cancel a contract agreed in your home, and the register anyone taking waste away must be on. In short:

• Look the company up on the Companies House register, linked from every listing. gov.uk says the record gives the registered address, date of incorporation, current and resigned officers, previous names and any insolvency information, free.
• Ask for the quote in writing, saying what it covers. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 says every contract to supply a service includes a term that the trader must perform the service with reasonable care and skill.
• Ask to see the insurance certificate, and check its dates. A listing says “Insurance stated” only where the business’s own website says it is insured.