Gas warning notices: what do Immediately Dangerous and At Risk mean?

Nobody plans for the visit where the engineer straightens up and says the appliance can't stay on. But it is a well-worn path: the gas industry has a standard procedure for exactly this moment, the classifications on the paperwork mean specific things, and what happens next is more orderly than it feels on the day. Here is what engineers issue, what the words mean, and what a landlord or tenant is supposed to do about it.

What happens when an engineer finds an unsafe appliance?

The engineer classifies what they have found under the industry's unsafe situations procedure, currently published by IGEM as the Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure, explains it to whoever is responsible for the property, takes the immediate action the classification calls for, and records all of it. The procedure exists so that every Gas Safe registered engineer, faced with the same fault, reaches the same decision on the same grounds. It is not the engineer being awkward; it is the paperwork of a decision made for the people sleeping in the property.

What do Immediately Dangerous, At Risk and Not to Current Standards mean?

• Immediately Dangerous (ID): the appliance or installation is a danger to life or property if left connected. The engineer will ask permission to disconnect it and will attach a warning notice, and it must not be used.
• At Risk (AR): a fault could become a danger. The appliance is normally turned off with the responsible person's agreement, with the remedial work advised and recorded.
• Not to Current Standards (NCS): the installation is not dangerous, but it is not how the work would be done under today's standards. It is recorded so the owner knows, and no immediate action is required.

What is a gas warning notice?

The written record of the unsafe situation: which appliance, what was found, how it was classified, and what action was taken on the day, such as the appliance being turned off, disconnected or capped off with permission. A warning label goes on the appliance itself and the notice goes to the responsible person, which in a rented property means the landlord or their agent. In the trade the form is often called a CP14. The notice is not a punishment and not a repair; it is the formal handover of a known problem from the engineer who found it to the person whose job it is to have it fixed.

Can the engineer turn the appliance off without permission?

No. Disconnecting or turning off an appliance is done with the responsible person's agreement: the engineer explains the danger and seeks permission, which is why the procedure talks about the responsible person throughout. If permission is refused, the engineer does not simply shrug and leave. The refusal is recorded on the notice, and for the most serious situations the engineer can escalate, including informing the gas emergency service provider. Separately, registered engineers have a duty under RIDDOR to report certain dangerous gas fittings they encounter, so a serious unsafe situation does not stay between the engineer and the doorstep.

What must a landlord do after a warning notice?

What should a tenant or homeowner do?

Leave the appliance alone and leave the label on it. The classification was made by someone qualified to judge it, on readings taken at the appliance, and neither fades with a few uneventful days. Report the defect to the landlord or agent in writing if they were not present, and chase the repair if it drags. And the emergency rule sits above all of this: if you smell gas at any time, or a carbon monoxide alarm sounds, do not wait for anything. Get into fresh air and call the National Gas Emergency line on 0800 111 999.

How do engineers keep warning notices consistent?

By recording the classification, the action taken and the evidence at the appliance, while it is all in front of them. That is the part Manifold is built around: the defect is captured with its category, the action taken and photos, the warning notice is generated from the same capture as the record, so the two always agree, and the property's history holds both for the next visit. When the remedial work is done, the fix sits in the same trail, and the awkward conversation a year later starts from a page rather than a memory.