For homeowners and tenants
Gas safety at home
Gas work is not DIY. What you can do is recognise the warning signs, know what to do in an emergency, and check that the engineer you call is Gas Safe registered for the job.
Our gas engineering path is in public beta: some lessons are still being checked. More sections are coming.
If you smell gas
Don't make a spark
Don't use light switches, flames or cigarettes. If it is safe and won't slow you down, open doors and windows and turn the gas off at the emergency control valve, usually by the meter. Never go into a cellar to reach it.
Get out, then call
Leave the building and call from outside. Mains gas: 0800 111 999 in Great Britain, 0800 002 001 in Northern Ireland. For bottled or tank LPG, call the supplier's emergency line. If anyone is in danger, call 999.
Don't look for the leak
Don't search for the leak or try a repair. Do what the emergency service tells you.
Carbon monoxide
It gives no warning smell
Carbon monoxide has no colour or smell. Headaches, dizziness, nausea and flu-like feelings that ease when you leave the house can be signs.
Other clues
Unexpected yellow or orange flames on an appliance that normally burns blue, soot or staining around it, and more condensation than usual. Some decorative fires burn yellow by design, so colour alone proves nothing.
What to do
Get everyone into fresh air, get urgent medical advice and call the gas emergency service. If someone collapses or struggles to breathe, call 999. Don't use the appliance again until a Gas Safe registered engineer says it is safe.
Choosing an engineer
Check the register
Paid gas work in homes needs a Gas Safe registered engineer. Check the engineer on the Gas Safe Register before work starts.
Read the ID card
A registered engineer carries a Gas Safe ID card with their photo, licence number and dates. The back lists the kinds of work they are registered for: make sure it covers your appliance.
Never reuse an unsafe appliance
If an engineer turns an appliance off or labels it unsafe, leave it off until it is repaired and proven safe. Never remove a warning label or turn the supply back on yourself.
If you rent
Great Britain
Landlords must have the gas appliances and flues they provide safety-checked at least every 12 months, keep them maintained, and give tenants a copy of the record. A Gas Safe registered engineer does the check.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland's own 2004 Regulations set a matching yearly check for landlords. Ask your landlord for the current record.
Questions people ask
- Can I fit or move my own gas cooker?
- No: installing or reconnecting a gas appliance is gas work, so use a Gas Safe registered engineer. HSE notes that pulling a freestanding cooker with a bayonet fitting out temporarily to clean behind it is not treated as work.
- Is a carbon monoxide alarm enough on its own?
- No. An alarm is a last warning, not a safety check. Appliances still need servicing as their makers recommend.
Sources
Sources checked 29 October 2026, each read at the source. The law and the official pages can change, so check them before you act.
- HSE: domestic gas safety, frequently asked questionsPaid gas work in homes needs a Gas Safe registered engineer; checking an engineer's ID card and the register.
- HSE: carbon monoxide and gas safety at homeCarbon monoxide symptoms and what to do.
- Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 36Great Britain landlords' annual gas safety check and record.
- Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 3Great Britain: competence for anyone who works on a gas fitting; employers and the self-employed must belong to the class of persons HSE approves.
- Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004, regulation 3Northern Ireland's own competence and approved-class duties.
- Gas Safe RegisterThe register itself, and its check-an-engineer service.