Lack of safety checks being carried out by property investors

Hundreds of thousands of homes acquired each year are at risk of a life-threatening gas incident, such as a carbon monoxide leak, or expensive repairs to boilers, fires, radiators and cookers, simply because homebuyers, including many investors, fail to carry out gas safety checks before buying a property, new research shows.

The study carried out by CORGI HomePlan found that just 10% of property purchasers considered it important to check a property’s safety before completing a purchase, while 28% believed it was covered in the mortgage lender’s survey.

The most common item new homeowners overlook is the working condition of their boiler, with 39% not getting a qualified engineer to test it.

Some 70% of the homebuyers surveyed did not know that new homebuyers can ask for a service record of all gas appliances in a home, including boilers, central heating, fires, cookers and portable heaters.

Wales was the safest region, with almost eight in 10 respondents having a Gas Safe registered engineer check out their property before moving in. Londoners were least safety-conscious, with just 38% from the capital doing the same.

Kevin Treanor, director of CORGI HomePlan, commented: “Buying a new home is an exciting time and one that often involves committing yourself to the limit of your finances.

“However, just as you wouldn’t commit to buy a property without seeing the surveyor’s report first, it is just as important that homebuyers also see the full service record of all gas appliances and have a Gas Safe registered engineer inspect the home too.

“Carbon monoxide still kills around 50 people a year and every one of these deaths is avoidable. People must minimise the risks by making sure all their gas appliances are in full working order.”