Finding your gas emergency control valve in a London flat

What the emergency control valve is

Every gas supply has a valve where the supply pipe meets the meter. It is called the emergency control valve, or ECV. Cadent, which runs the gas network across North London, describes it as a tap handle on the pipe near the meter. When the handle lines up with the pipe, the gas is on. Turn it a quarter turn, 90 degrees left or right, so it sits across the pipe, and the gas is off.

That single quarter turn is one of the steps Cadent asks you to take if you smell gas. The full order is in our guide on what to do if you smell gas in London.

Why it is hard to find in Hackney

Much of Hackney is Victorian terraces and council estates. A lot of those terraces were split into two or three flats, often decades ago, and the gas arrangement was fitted around the building as it was. At the 2021 Census, 32.2% of Hackney households rented privately and 40.5% rented from a social landlord (ONS). Plenty of people living in Hackney have never been shown where their meter is.

The usual places in a converted terrace:

Where	What you often find	Watch out for
Under the main stairs	One or more meters in the original hallway cupboard	Shared cupboards may be locked or full of bikes
Cellar or basement	Meters for every flat in a row, sometimes unlabelled	Cadent says not to go into a cellar or basement if the leak is there
Front vault under the pavement	Older meter positions in houses with coal vaults	Damp, dark, sometimes only reached from the lower flat
Communal hall cupboard by the front door	Meters fitted later, in a tall cupboard	Labels can be wrong after flats are renumbered
External meter box	Box on the front wall or in the front garden	Needs a meter box key, sometimes stiff
Inside the flat	Kitchen cupboard or hall cupboard	Easy, if you know it is there

Purpose built blocks around Homerton and Hackney Wick are different again. Meters may be in a riser cupboard on each landing or in one ground floor meter room. Some newer blocks have no individual gas supply at all and take heat from a communal network.

Find it now, not during a leak

Do this on an ordinary day:

1. Find your meter. Ask your landlord, agent or neighbours if you cannot.
2. Check which meter is yours. Look for a flat number, or check the meter serial number against your gas bill.
3. Find the valve handle on the pipe next to it. Note which way it is pointing.
4. Check you can reach it without a key. If you need one, ask for a copy.
5. Make sure nothing is stored in front of it.
6. Put a note on the inside of a kitchen cupboard saying where the meter is.

If several meters share a cupboard, the labels matter. Turning off the wrong flat’s gas in an emergency does nothing to stop your leak. If your labels look wrong, mention it to whoever looks after the building.

Turning it off in an emergency

If you smell gas, Cadent’s order is:

• Open doors and windows.
• Do not use light switches, plugs or anything that could spark, and do not light a flame.
• Turn the ECV a quarter turn so the handle is across the pipe, if you can reach it safely.
• Do not go into a cellar or basement if that is where the leak is. Leave the building instead.
• Get everyone out if the smell is strong.
• Call 0800 111 999 once you are safe.
• Wait for the emergency engineer’s all clear.

The emergency engineer makes it safe. Any repair to your boiler, cooker, fire or pipework after that needs a Gas Safe registered engineer. Our gas leak page explains what that visit involves.

Turning the gas back on

If the gas went off for another reason, for example during building work, turning it back on is not just a matter of flipping the handle. Before the supply is restored, every appliance tap needs to be off. Otherwise gas can flow from a hob burner or fire that has no flame. Boilers and fires with pilot lights may then need relighting.

Where there has been any work on the pipework, the installation should be tested for gas tightness by a Gas Safe registered engineer before it goes back into use. HSE guidance for landlords notes that departing tenants sometimes shut off the emergency control valve or leave open ended pipes, and recommends checks before a property is let again.

A valve that will not turn

A stiff ECV is common in old meter positions, especially in damp cellars and vaults. Do not force it with tools. Bending the pipe or snapping the handle can make a leak worse. If you smell gas and cannot turn the valve, leave it, follow the other steps and tell the 0800 111 999 call handler that the valve would not move.

Outside an emergency, a valve that is seized, damaged or missing its handle still needs reporting. The valve sits at the meter, on the boundary between the network side and your side, so ask your gas supplier who should deal with it, and call 0800 111 999 if you ever smell gas while it is stuck. HSE explains that the pipework from the meter outwards belongs to the pipeline operator, while the installation pipework from the meter to your appliances is the property’s responsibility. For changes on your side of the meter, see our gas pipework page.