Rental Apartment Inspections: Gas, Chimney and Electrics
Inspections in a rental apartment cover the gas installation, chimney flues and the electrical system. They are arranged by the building owner or building manager, not the tenant. The apartment owner provides access to the unit and looks after their own appliances, and the tenant has to let the inspector in. Below I explain who is responsible for what in an apartment block and in a tenement building, what each inspection covers and what to do about a tenant who won’t open the door.
Which inspections are mandatory in a rental apartment?
A rental apartment is subject to the same periodic building inspections as any other unit. The scope is set by Article 62 of the Polish Construction Law Act: the gas installation and chimney flues must be checked at least once a year, and the electrical and lightning protection systems at least once every five years.
- Gas installation - tightness and condition of gas appliances.
- Chimney flues, meaning smoke, exhaust and ventilation ducts - clear passage and draught.
- Electrical and lightning protection systems - protective devices, shock protection, wire insulation and earthing.
Does renting change anything here? Not the scope and not the deadlines. Only one thing changes: who physically opens the door for the inspector.
Building, apartment and tenant: who is responsible for which inspection?
The inspection is ordered by the building owner or manager. Never by the tenant. In a block run by a homeowners’ association or housing cooperative, the manager orders inspections for the whole property, including the installations in individual apartments. And in a tenement building with a single owner? There the owner arranges them personally. The roles break down like this:
- building manager or owner - orders the inspections and keeps the results,
- apartment owner - provides access and fixes faults in the apartment’s installations and appliances, such as the cooker, boiler or water heater,
- tenant - makes the apartment available on the agreed date, reports faults and doesn’t modify the installations on their own.
Gas inspection in a rented apartment - what gets checked and what stays with the owner
The gas inspection checks the tightness of the installation and the condition of connected appliances, and the result goes into a report. Don’t confuse it with the boiler or heater servicing recommended by the manufacturer (a common mistake). The statutory inspection concerns the installation. Servicing keeps a specific appliance working and under warranty. Recommendations from the report that concern the inside of the apartment are carried out by its owner. In my view it always pays to ask the manager for a copy of the report. It’s the document that proves the installation was working on the day you handed the apartment over to the tenant.
Chimney inspection: who pays in an apartment block and who pays in a tenement?
Whoever orders the chimney flue inspection pays for it: the homeowners’ association, the housing cooperative or the building owner. In an association this cost is part of the management costs of the common property, so the apartment owner covers it indirectly through their monthly advance payments anyway. Passing it on to the tenant? Only if the lease agreement provides for it, just like when deciding who pays for minor repairs. Oh, and the chimney sweep quite often asks to uncover a vent blocked by a wardrobe or to disconnect a cooker hood from the ventilation duct. The tenant needs to know this, otherwise next year it will be the same story.
Electrical inspection in an apartment - scope and the right timing
The electrical inspection checks the condition of the installation and how well shock protection works. It must be done by a licensed person. But note: the building inspection doesn’t relieve the apartment owner of responsibility for everything past the meter. Sockets, circuits, the fuse box in the apartment - that’s all their job. An extra check before a new tenant moves in or after a renovation isn’t mandatory. In practice it’s simply a sensible move. And the tenant shouldn’t modify sockets or add circuits on their own.
What to do when the tenant won’t give access for an inspection?
The tenant should let the inspector in, and the simplest approach is to write this obligation directly into the lease agreement. Missed the date? Take it step by step:
- Notify the tenant of the inspection date well in advance.
- Agree a second date with the manager.
- Send a written demand to provide access to the apartment.
- Inform the building manager that the inspection didn’t take place and why.
Not having an up-to-date inspection can weaken your position when a claim comes up, because insurance terms often require installations to be in working order. Check the general terms and conditions that the landlord’s rental apartment insurance policy is based on. And if a dispute arises with the tenant or the manager, don’t try to handle it alone. Get a lawyer.
How to store inspection reports and the apartment’s inspection history?
Keep inspection reports together with your rental documents, because they prove the condition of the installations on a specific day. The building logbook is kept by the building owner or manager, and the apartment owner can request copies of reports concerning their unit. In Tenanto these documents go into the building records with inspections, next to the board of repairs reported by tenants.
All in all, inspections in a rental apartment come down to a simple split: the building orders the inspections, the apartment owner provides access and fixes faults in the unit, and the tenant opens the door and reports problems. Want to get the rest of your obligations sorted? Take a look at the advice section for landlords.
Frequently asked questions
No. In a homeowners’ association or housing cooperative, the building manager orders the inspection for all units. The apartment owner provides access and fixes the faults in their unit listed in the report.
They should provide access, because the inspection concerns the safety of the whole building. A refusal is grounds for a written demand. If the conflict drags on, consult a lawyer.
Common areas are repaired by the homeowners’ association or the building owner. Installations and appliances inside the apartment are the apartment owner’s responsibility, unless the damage was caused by the tenant.
