Gas Installation Certificate of Compliance (CoC)
Let’s just get this out the way right up front. Any gas installation that’s permanent in nature’s gotta have a CoC, and the CoC’s gotta be issued by a registered installer. Them’s the law.
What is a Coc
It’s a piece of paper signed by a registered installer certifying that he/she checked your gas installation and found it to be compliant with the regulations as they stand at the moment. Currently, a CoC has to be issued from a carbon-copy CoC book issued by the gas safety association. No electronic CoCs exist. If your installer issued you one, you was robbed.
You need a CoC if you have a gas installation, it protects you from your idiot neighbours when they decide to do some dodgy homespun spoeg-n-plak gas installation on a shoestring budget. It also breaks your insurance broker’s heart when he can’t refuse a claim because your paperwork is up to date (this alone is reason to frame the thing). Also conveyancers charge per line item, so if they can add an extra line item they do, they don’t really care what the paperwork is they’re shifting, they just gotta shift something because line items are required.
I need a new one, what’s involved?
You need two things:
- A compliant installation.
- A registered installer who agrees the installation is compliant.
We’ve got a whole lot of point #2s, but #1 is the deal-breaker. The regulations are reviewed every 3 years, so even if your installation was certified and you had a compliance certificate (which you decided to feed the dog his breakfast on), there is no guarantee that the installation can be certified now. Also, bear in mind that when an installer signs off a fellow installer’s installation, he/she is taking complete ownership and absolving said fellow of any responsibility. That right there is not what we call incentive. So pucker up, you shouldn’t have fed the dog the old one.
Realistically, it’s a gamble, sometimes we see 5-year-old installations that are 100% certifiable (like our last president) and sometimes we see much newer installations where the client was hustled. Your mileage will vary.
How long does it take?
If the installation is compliant, minutes. If not, then it depends on what’s wrong with it, but most of the time, it’s a single visit to sort out the offending bits and then they can sign. So anything from hours to days. Usually less than 2 days.
I need a temporary CoC – Help!
There is no such thing, the gas industry is just not that sophisticated. But they can issue a certificate on an installation that is still under maintenance but that they know will be made compliant. They will condemn the installation in the meantime and remove any way for you to connect the line up to a gas feed. This buys them time to complete the installation while you get the certificate to feed your dog off again.
Why does it cost so much, it’s just a piece of paper?
Ironically so is the thing you are paying with, you tight schmuck. Anyway, I already told you, the new installer signing off takes complete responsibility for the whole installation. Nobody’s gonna sign up for that without a carrot dangling somewhere.
Can we do this over the phone or do you have to visit?
You can send in photos and they can usually tell with a fairly high confidence level if your installation is certifiable, but the only way to know for sure is to be there and inspect it. The physical inspection has to take place, there’s no getting around that.
