LeanOnUs - A Community Here For You! #LOU

Many of us here in the UK live in rented properties either owned by local authorities, housing associations, holiday accommodation (caravans, boats), private or the like. Many tenants I have related with during my career have little or no understanding of the legal duties placed upon Landlords and managing agents regarding gas safety.

The current regulations, ‘Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998 (GSIUR) 36′, place legal duties upon landlords and managing agents to ensure that any property for rent, including caravans, boats, holiday homes ect, MUST be checked for safety on an annual basis every 12 months or before any lease commences.

The landlords annual gas safety check is similar to that of the vehicle MOT whereby gas engineers (who also has a duty of care) check the integrity of the gas installation so as to leave it in a safe condition for use over the next 12 months and record all findings and tests carried out along with any remedial works.

The gas engineer MUST check for any gas escapes, gas fittings including appliances, flues and ventilation that is OWNED by the landlord in the form of a certificate by leaving copies with the tenant (which should be kept), the landlord or managing agent and themselves for their own records for a minimum period of up to two years. All appears simple... click to read more

This “Personal Experience” is a little different for LeanOnUs as it's fictional and written on behalf of Benjamin Franklin, in a sense! Most of us know Benjamin Franklin as a founding father of the United States or as the man who discovered electricity. The reason for sharing Ben's story with you all is that he experienced bullying by his older brother, James, and sadly, once he left home he never returned. Maybe you can relate to this and if not you may know someone who this has happened to.

We can only image the situations that Ben faced when he was a young boy but Timothy Pina and Richard Paul have put together a lovely book called 'Bullying Ben' to help raise awareness and to show that even if we are bullied there is still hope and not to give up. The most important thing though, is to speak out and tell someone. Confiding in someone is important and having support can make all the difference to helping you get through or helping you to deal with a bad situation.

Encouraging children to speak out and to help them realise what some of their friends might be feeling/going through is what this book does. What is also great about this book,... click to read more