Landlord gas safety certificates: what the law actually requires

If you let a property with gas appliances in it, the gas safety check is not optional and the rules are more specific than most landlords realise. This page sets out what the law actually requires.

What the law says

The duty comes from the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 36. If you are a landlord, you must:

• Have every gas appliance and flue you are responsible for checked for safety every 12 months

• Use a Gas Safe registered engineer to carry out the check

• Keep a record of the check for two years

• Give a copy to each existing tenant within 28 days of the check

• Give a copy to any new tenant before they move in

The record is commonly called a CP12, or a Landlord Gas Safety Record. CP12 is not a legal term, it is just the form number that stuck.

What is actually checked

A gas safety check is not the same thing as a service, and this trips people up constantly.

The check confirms that each appliance is safe: gas tightness, standing and working pressure, burner pressure or gas rate, that the flue removes combustion products correctly, that ventilation is adequate, and that safety devices operate. It applies to every gas appliance you are responsible for, so the boiler, the gas hob, the gas fire and the flues serving them.

A boiler service is different work. It cleans and inspects the components to keep the appliance running properly and to keep the manufacturer warranty valid. A safety check tells you the appliance is not dangerous. A service is what keeps it from becoming so.

Having both done in the same visit is normal and sensible.

The 12 month rule, and the useful exception

The check must be done every 12 months. Renewing early used to reset the clock and cost landlords weeks of cover, which is why the rules changed.

You can now have the check carried out up to two months before the current record expires and keep the original expiry date. So if your certificate runs out on 30 November, a check in October still gives you an expiry of 30 November the following year. There is no reason to leave it to the last week.

What happens if an appliance fails

The engineer classifies any defect and cannot simply ignore it.

Immediately Dangerous means the appliance poses an immediate risk. With your permission it is disconnected or the gas supply is turned off, and it is labelled. An engineer who finds an ID appliance cannot leave it connected and working.

At Risk means a fault exists that could become dangerous. Again, with permission, it is turned off and labelled until it is put right.

Not to Current Standards means it is not dangerous but does not meet today's standards. It stays in use and is recorded.

If a tenant refuses access, keep written evidence that you tried repeatedly. The regulations expect you to take all reasonable steps, and a paper trail is what demonstrates that.

Where landlords get caught out

• Assuming the tenant's appliances are covered. You are responsible for the appliances you provide. A tenant's own gas cooker is theirs, but the flue and installation serving it may still be yours.

• Forgetting the flue. Flues in voids need an inspection hatch. No access can mean the appliance cannot be verified as safe.

• Missing the 28 day handover. The check being done is only half the duty. The tenant has to receive the record.

• HMOs and multiple appliances. Every appliance needs checking, not just the boiler.

Portfolios

If you hold several properties, the administrative problem is usually the renewal dates rather than the checks themselves. Grouping them so they fall due in the same window is far easier to manage than chasing them one at a time.

Booking it

We carry out landlord gas safety checks and issue the record on the day. See our landlord gas safety and CP12 page for what the visit involves, and our boiler service page if you want both done together.

We cover Manchester, Salford, Stockport and the surrounding towns.

Ring the office on 0161 515 9977 with the property address and how many gas appliances there are.