For less than £3 a week, you can ensure that you aren’t one of the landlords responsible for what could be a fatal CO incident. The gas-elec heat-care plan comprises an annual boiler service followed by full boiler breakdown cover for 12 months — for just £140 a year including taxes.

We also have a range of heat-care packages aimed specifically at landlords and agents such as Landlord Protection Plus which includes a boiler service and breakdown cover and gas and electrical safety inspections. And if you have multiple properties we can work out a deal specific to your needs.

Call 0800 587 999 for details.

The average period for which a rental property is empty between lets is now just 2.7 weeks per year – down from four weeks, just two years ago, according to ARLA.
The association’s research also found that achieved rents have risen in the last six months and outperformed other investment classes consistently for the past two years.
“Three quarters of our members are reporting that demand for rental property is outstripping supply, and with rental returns currently at 5%, anyone thinking about investing in a property to rent could be well placed to in the coming months, ” said ARLA operations manager Ian Potter.
In fact, in a reversal of a time-honoured pattern, more householders moved from homes that they owned into rented accommodation in 2009-10 than vice versa. And it now seems that the growing private rental sector will account for one in five British households by 2015. If social housing is included, half of all householders in the UK could be living in rented accommodation within 15 years.
More demand leads to higher rents. Market researchers BDRC found in December that 45 percent of landlords had increased rents in 2011.
But, please note, with increased demand comes increased landlord responsibility with annual gas and electrical safety inspections arguably being top of the list.
In fact, last year gas-elec’s 120 nationwide franchisees carried out no fewer than 100,000 jobs.

Gas-elec this week launched an easy monthly payment boiler scheme with no cash upfront.
As Britain reels from a winter death rate twice as high as some of the world’s coldest countries, the recession-beating scheme could not have come at a better time.
Payment plans range from 12 to 60 months, and include an interest-free option.
A new boiler is a big outlay, but if your tenants are living in a property with one that is more than ten years old, you should be thinking of a new one: boilers aren’t made to last more than a decade.
In fact, 1.4 million boilers were changed in the UK last year alone. This is no less than 10% of the country’s boiler stock.
In addition to a new boiler, the recession-busting easy payment plan can be used to finance a full heating system and re-wiring.

For the first time ever, UK landlords have national guidance on fire safety in blocks of flats.

The free document, entitled Fire Safety in Purpose Built Blocks of Flats and downloadable from www.local.gov.uk/fire-safety-guidance, was developed by eight organisations including the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA) and published by the Local Government Group.

The trigger for the publication was worried and sometimes confused landlords who, largely under the auspices of ARMA, have long requested guidance on preventing fires from happening in their properties and protecting residents when they do. Until now, there have been a wide variety of fire risk assessments in operation with excessive action been taken in some blocks — and none at all in others.

The 192 pages give guidance on topics such as ’stay put’ policies, alarm systems, requirements of a fire risk assessment and the law relating to fire safety in communal blocks. In addition, the document provides many case studies that focus on common issues found in flats with suggested fire safety solutions.

For ARMA’s chairman Peter Dening the importance of the guidance cannot be overstated. “We have pushed long and hard for some national guidance and we hope this document finally provides specific and practical advice. As an indication of the significance and demand for this guidance in the leasehold sector, ARMA devised a training course in anticipation of its publication – it sold out within days.”

It is a legal requirement to carry out fire risk assessments and establish a fire policy in communal areas of blocks of flats, and the responsibility falls to whoever has ultimate control of the management of the building: typically, the landlord, freeholder or residents management company.

Are you sure the properties you manage are safe and on the right side of the law? Are you up to date on the latest gas and electrical safety legislation? Are you giving your landlord clients and their tenants the best possible protection?

Since 1996, gas-elec has been providing agents across Britain with a one-stop-shop solution to mandatory gas and electrical inspections. In one visit, a single multi-skilled engineer carries out two inspections and issues one report at the end from an online bespoke system.

In addition, we offer sophisticated service and home maintenance plans for rented properties, whether managed or not, comprising products such as: landlord protection plan, which includes a boiler service and gas and electrical equipment safety inspections for around £3 a week; carbon monoxide safety reports; a property services protection plan; remedial work such as a boiler replacement or kitchen wiring; energy performance certificates; highly competitive landlord and homeowner insurance; solar panels; fire risk safety assessment; a 24/7 emergency call-out service; a handyman service for landlords; online certificates; annual reminders of properties’ gas and electrical inspection due dates; and probably the UK’s best boiler breakdown cover – for 40p a day.

In short, we know exactly how much work is involved in the professional management of a property’s services: join forces with us, and you’ll feel the pressure melt away.

How do you know if the boiler service you’ve paid for has been carried out properly?

In a recent investigation, consumer group Which? revealed that boiler engineers across the country do not always carry out a proper service — with some recommending unnecessary and costly repairs and others failing to make even the basic inspections.

Unfortunately, the investigation’s findings haven’t come as a surprise to gas-elec. Just the other week one of our engineers had a call out for a broken Alpha boiler. The customer was an elderly lady living on her own, and she told our man that an engineer had wanted to charge her hundreds of pounds to change her defunct printed circuit board. Prior to that, two other engineers had recommended she change her boiler altogether.

The actual problem? A worn out micro-switch which simply needed to be turned to 180 degrees for the boiler to work. Since that visit – which cost the lady just £45 — the gas-elec engineer has returned for a gas check and found everything working perfectly.

Do you have any dodgy engineer horror stories? If so, please contact the editor at: karen.glaser@gas-elec.co.uk