Gas Safety in Holiday Homes
We offer the individual holiday home owner and fleet owner, operating in France, a full gas and electrical testing and safety certification service. Gas certification is to British Standards and Regulations, as supervised by CORGI, and electrical safety is to the Institution of Electrical Engineers Code of Practice for In-Service Safety Testing.

Caravan holiday homes, (including “static” mobile homes), require regular maintenance and it is essential, even though they may be located abroad, to comply with regulations governing their safety. Gas appliances are required to be installed in accordance with safety requirements in order to minimise risk to the occupants. If a mobile home is made by a British manufacturer then it is required, by law, to comply with British Standards. If a UK resident rents out a holiday home abroad English Law can still apply.

Poor maintenance of a holiday home can lead to life threatening situations particularly when gas is involved. Where accidents have occurred as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning or asphyxiation a combination of circumstances is almost certainly involved from factors such as :-
• Unsatisfactory flueing
• Inadequate ventilation
• Appliance not working correctly
• Lack of routine maintenance
• Incorrect use
• No safety checks carried out on pipework

Safety certification can only be carried out under English Law by a qualified person and registered with CORGI, (Council for Registered Gas Installers).

When a Caravan Holiday Home is let to a third party the owner is then effectively a “ landlord” and consequently subject to the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998 and other legal responsibilities and duties.

Such regulations place a legal duty upon the landlord to ensure all gas installations, including appliances and flues are maintained in a safe condition, and checked at least once a year by a qualified, registered person and a record maintained.
Confusion arises for the British owner when the holiday home is abroad, e.g. France, Spain, Italy etc. The laws of the European countries are such that in addition to the law of the land, European and English law have to be considered. Action by a foreign plaintiff can be brought under the jurisdiction of English Law for a UK resident, and such laws can be applied by a foreign court.

Currently it is a debatable point whether, for instance, the French code Circulaire Ministerielle 9th August 1978, (to which French owners have to comply), recommends safety procedures as comprehensive as the British Standard 3582, ( and EN 1949 for the future), together with the Gas, (Safety & Use), Regulations 1998 . Future planned regulations may go even further.

Although a UK resident, letting abroad, has to consider the implications of all relevant legislation, an owner who satisfies the requirements of English law could be considered to have a reasonable defence against an action brought under foreign legislation.

Ignorance of the law is not a defence within the law.