The landlord is required to have all gas appliances and installation pipe work checked at least every twelve months. These tests must be carried out by a registered Gas Safe engineer and must take place before the tenants gain access to the property. The engineer will basically be checking that:

There is sufficient supply of air to the property to allow proper combustion of any gas appliance.
Adequate facilities are in place for the removal of combustion by-products.
There is adequate ventilation to enable gas appliances to be safely used.
Appliances are in a condition that allows safe usage and eliminates risk of escaping gas.
Fittings and flues are maintained in a safe position at all times.
If at any point you suspect that there is a gas escape, you must immediately take all reasonable steps to cut off gas supply.

The landlord is required to keep accurate records of the date of inspections and remedial works carried out on all gas appliances within the property and retain these records for a period of 2 years.

The record should contain:

The date of the check
Name and address of the premises
Name and address of the landlord or your agent
Location of each piece of apparatus or flue
Any defects identified
Any remedial action taken
Identification of any defects
Confirmation that the safety check complies with the requirements of the regulations
The registration number of the Gas Safe engineer or the one with which employer is registered by Health and Safety Executive
The engineer's signature
To be fully compliant, you should keep one spare copy of the current record of the safety test certificate on the property, one with the letting agent, one for yourself and a final one per tenant, to be handed over when the tenancy agreement is signed. A new tenant must receive a copy of a current safety certificate prior to occupying the property. Tenants cannot be allowed to occupy the property if a current certificate is not available.

ELECTRICAL

These regulations apply to anyone landlord who lets accommodation which contains electrical equipment. It covers any electrical equipment between 50 and 1000 volts a/c and requires that the apparatus to be safe and tested regularly by a competent person. The regulations do not, however, give any clear indications as to how often checks need to be made in order to be 'regular', nor stipulate any criteria that make a person competent.

The main things that you need to ensure are that the electrical equipment is:
Adequately protect against dangers such as overloading, through insulation and earthing;
Constructed in accordance with good engineering practice;
Accompanied by instruction booklets or clear instructions.
 
There are some simple checks that you can perform yourself to ensure that any equipment is compliant with the regulations:
Heating appliances should be in good working order, as should other domestic appliances such as washing machines, tumble dryers, microwaves, fridges, freezers and cookers;
Leads should not be worn or frayed;
Live and moving parts should be guarded and not easily accessible;
No wiring should be accessible or visible;
All plugs should be fused and BS1363 compliant;
Fireguards should be BS3248 compliant;
Fire extinguishers should be BS6575 compliant.

FURNITURE SAFETY

This legislation is there to ensure that furniture and furnishings are fire resistant and will not produce noxious smoke in the event of a fire. If required, the furniture or fittings may need to pass a match-resistance or cigarette-resistance test.

All furniture or furnishings that you supply must be marked with a label indicating that they comply with the regulations. Unfortunately, these labels often get lost or become unreadable - such items will not be compliant, even if they were manufactured to the correct specifications.

You must remove any items that do not comply with the regulations before any tenants move in.

Items Covered

The following items are covered by the regulations:
Sofas and chairs
Beds, headboards and mattresses
Sofa-beds and futons
Nursery furniture
Garden furniture, which is also suitable for use inside
Scatter cushions and seat pads
Pillows
Loose and stretch covers for furniture
Futons
Headboards
Scatter cushions
Bean bags

Exempt Items

The following items are exempt from the regulations:
Bed linen (including duvets and pillowcases)
Loose covers for mattresses
Curtains
Carpets
Furniture that was manufactured before 1 January 1950 (unless it has been re-upholstered since then). This is because most of the materials that cause fire were not in use prior to 1950.