Two different jobs get booked with one phone call in Southampton as everywhere else. A boiler service is maintenance of the appliance to keep it working and efficient. The landlord gas safety check is a legal duty under the 1998 Regulations, covering every gas appliance and flue in the let property. They overlap, they are usually bought together, and they are not the same purchase.
What a boiler service covers
Inspection and cleaning of the burner, the heat exchanger and the condensate trap, a flue integrity check, a combustion analysis against the manufacturer's figures, checks on gas pressure and the safety devices, and a written record of what was found. What is actually done should follow the manufacturer's schedule for that appliance, which is why the make and model belong in the enquiry rather than the boiler's age alone.
The landlord check is a different duty
Regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 puts duties on a landlord for the gas appliances, fittings and flues in a let property, including an annual safety check and a record given to the tenant. The check is about safety, not about performance, and it is not a service. An engineer can do both in one visit, but the paperwork is two documents.
Who is allowed to do the work
Anyone working on gas appliances must be on the Gas Safe Register for the type of work, and the card names what they are competent to do. Ask to see it and check the categories rather than the photo. A firm that sends a different engineer each year is normal; a firm that cannot say who will attend and what they are registered for is not.
What to put in the enquiry
The make, model and rough age of the boiler, whether it is combi, system or conventional, whether the property is let, whether you want the service and the safety check together, and access details including where the meter and the stopcock are. A quote against that is comparable. A quote against boiler and postcode alone is a starting price that moves on the day.
Questions people ask about boiler servicing Southampton
Is a boiler service the same as a gas safety certificate?
No. The service is maintenance of the appliance. The gas safety record is evidence of the annual check the 1998 Regulations require in a let property, covering every gas appliance and flue.
How often should a boiler be serviced?
Annually is the usual manufacturer requirement and the usual condition of a warranty. The landlord safety check is separately required every twelve months in a let property.
Does a new boiler still need servicing?
Usually yes, because most manufacturers make an annual service a condition of the guarantee. Skipping it to save a visit can cost the warranty on the part that fails.
What is the boiler service and gas safety certificate cost together?
Less than the two bought separately, because one visit covers both and the engineer is already there. They remain two different jobs on one invoice: the service is maintenance and the check is the landlord's statutory record.