Guide to the servicing and safety of heating and hot water appliances in your home
As a landlord, Cannock Chase Council has a legal duty to ensure that regular safety
checks are carried out to all gas, solid fuel, electric and renewable appliances in all tenanted properties, together with ongoing maintenance and repairs to these heating and hot water installations.
Please see below for more information on how to keep your home safe while using heating and
hot water appliances.
If you have any queries regarding your heating and hot water system, please do not hesitate to contact the Gas Team at gashousing@cannockchasedc.gov.uk.
- Heating and Hot Water System Repairs
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For more information on heating and hot water system repairs, please refer to page 16 and 17 of the Housing Services Repairs Handbook below.
The job priorities for heating and hot water repairs are summarised below:
PRIORITY G1 Uncontrolled gas escapes / fumes / CO detector activation - response within 1 hour.
PRIORITY G2 Controlled gas escapes / fumes / CO detector activation - response within 2 hours.
PRIORITY G3 Any other emergency e.g. water leak - response within 4 hours.
PRIORITY G4 Total failure of central heating system - same day response.
PRIORITY G5 Specified repair - response within 24 hours.
PRIORITY G6 Any other repair - response within 3 days.
Priority G4 includes:
- Failure of the only form of heating in living room - for vulnerable tenants.
- Boiler/central heating overheating/banging.
- Water excessively hot.
Priority G5 includes:
- No hot water.
- Overflow running.
- Breakdowns for installations under warranty.
- Void checks and abandoned properties / spin cap incoming gas supply.
Priority G6 includes:
- Focal fire not working.
- One cold radiator.
- Heating and hot water only coming on together.
- Remove/refit radiator for other trades.
- Faulty time clock/room stat - if heating/hot water is still working.
- Check consumption - high gas bills.
- Lost item behind fire - unless safety may be compromised.
- Fire will not light - if radiator fitted in same room.
- Noisy boiler - if heating/hot water is still working.
- New tenant / mutual exchange checks.
- Batten wall and refix radiator.
Please note - this list may be subject to further amendment but only after further consultation.
If you experience any issues with the heating and hot water system in your home, please contact the Council's Repair Service on 01543 462621.
- Annual Gas Safety Checks
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Your safety is our top priority, so every year we complete safety checks on all gas appliances fitted in our tenanted properties. Our contractor, Sure Maintenance, carries out this work on our behalf.
When your Gas Safety Check is due, Sure Maintenance will write to you with an appointment for your Gas Safety Check. If this appointment is not convenient, you can contact Sure Maintenance directly on their freephone telephone number (0204 5422 055) to rearrange to a more suitable date.
It's really important that you allow access for your Gas Safety Check to be completed, so that we can ensure that the gas appliances in your home remain safe and are working correctly. You are also obligated by your Tenancy Agreement (Condition 3.33) to allow access into your home for this work to be carried out. In
serious cases, where we've been unable to make contact with you or access your home, we may decide to take legal action against you for breach of your Tenancy Agreement. This will always be a last resort and we will make several attempts to contact you and arrange an appointment first.Your Gas Safety Check will only take approximately half an hour to complete and will keep your home safe for another 12 months.
To confirm or re-arrange your gas safety check appointment, please contact Sure Maintenance on 0204 5422 055.
- Carbon Monoxide Safety
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Carbon Monoxide is a toxic gas. It can be caused when gas appliances are not properly fitted, maintained or ventilated.
Signs of carbon monoxide include:
- your carbon monoxide detector going off.
- a yellow or orange gas flame.
- soot, brown or yellow staining around your gas appliance.
If you suspect carbon monoxide:
- stop using all gas appliances and switch them off.
- open all doors and windows to ventilate your home.
- leave the property calmly.
- call the gas emergency number for Cadent on 0800 111 999.
How to reduce the risk of carbon monoxide:
- allow access for your yearly Gas Safety Check to ensure all gas appliances are working safely.
- test your carbon monoxide alarm weekly.
- keep air vents clear.
- do not attempt to repair gas appliances yourself.
- do not block any outside flues or air bricks.
- Immersion Heaters Safety Information
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If you have an electric heating system or a traditional central heating system (not a combination boiler) with an immersion heater, you should be aware of the advice below:
- noise or bubbling noises coming from the hot water cylinder and system.
- hot water from the cold taps in the bathroom and possibly the toilet cistern following flushing.
- steam/moisture in the roof space.
- excessively hot water from the hot tap.
If you experience any of the above issues, please switch off the immersion heater at the point of isolation and contact the Council's Repair Service on 01543 462621.