The villages are where landlord compliance quietly goes wrong. A single cottage outside a town is not worth a special trip to most firms, so the visit gets postponed, then postponed again, and the certificate lapses on a property that is perfectly safe.
We solve that with routing rather than a rural surcharge. Village addresses go into a planned run alongside the nearest town work, which is why booking ahead of expiry gets you a better date than an urgent call the week it runs out.
Off mains gas and mixed fuel property
Plenty of West Lothian village property is not on the mains gas network. LPG carries the identical annual landlord obligation and is certified in the same way. Oil fired appliances are outside gas certification, but they still need annual servicing and they still fail in January if nobody looks at them.
Where a property has both, we are clear about which appliance the certificate covers and which is being serviced, so you are not left assuming a document covers something it does not.
What village properties commonly need
- LPG bulk tank or cylinder installations with their own regulator and pipework checks.
- Older boilers in outbuildings, porches and utility rooms with limited ventilation.
- Long external pipe and condensate runs exposed to frost.
- Solid fuel or wood burning appliances alongside gas, which need separate attention.
- Single tenant cottages where access depends entirely on one person being home.
Getting a village date that actually happens
Send the expiry date early and we will place the property in the next planned run through that part of the county. If you own two village properties, or you know a neighbouring landlord in the same village, saying so at booking usually improves both the price and the date.
Frequently asked questions
- Do you charge extra for village addresses?
- No rural surcharge. We manage cost by routing village work into planned runs, which is why an early booking gets a better date than an urgent one.
- My cottage runs on LPG. Does it need a landlord certificate?
- Yes. LPG appliances carry the same annual obligation as mains gas, and the certificate looks the same. Oil appliances sit outside gas certification but still need servicing.
- The property is empty between tenants. Can you still certify it?
- Yes, and a void is often the easiest time to do it. Gas needs to be on at the meter for the appliances to be tested, so tell us if the supply has been capped.
Village lets certified without the rural runaround
Give us the village, the fuel type and the expiry date and we will put it into the next planned run.