Key points
- Every gas appliance and flue you provide for tenants must be safety checked by a Gas Safe registered engineer every 12 months.
- Existing tenants must get a copy of the record within 28 days of the check, and new tenants before they move in.
- Keep each record for at least two years. In England, rooms with a fixed combustion appliance such as a gas boiler also need a carbon monoxide alarm.
Where the rules come from
Landlords’ gas safety duties are set out in the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and enforced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The core duties are simple: keep gas appliances, flues and pipework safe, have a safety check done every year, and give your tenants the paperwork.
The record the engineer gives you is still widely called a “CP12”, after the old CORGI form, but the legal term is a gas safety record.
What needs checking, and who can check it
The annual check covers every gas appliance and flue you provide for your tenants’ use, such as the boiler, a gas fire or a gas hob you supplied. It must be carried out by an engineer on the Gas Safe Register.
If a tenant brings their own gas appliance, the appliance itself is their responsibility, but you’re still responsible for the pipework that serves it. HSE also recommends including every flue or chimney connected to a gas appliance in the check, even ones that don’t serve an appliance you provided.
Timing: the 12-month rule and the 2-month window
Each check must be done within 12 months of the last one. Since 2018 you’ve been allowed to have the check done up to two months early while keeping the original deadline, the same way an MOT works. So a check due on 1 December can be done any time from 1 October, and the next one is still due by 1 December the following year.
If you use that flexibility, you need to keep each record until two further checks have been done, so you can show the dates were met.
Giving your tenants a copy
- Existing tenants: a copy within 28 days of the check.
- New tenants: a copy before they move in.
- Lets of under 28 days (for example, holiday lets): display a copy in a prominent place in the property.
Electronic copies are fine as long as they’re secure and can be printed when needed.
What the record must show
A valid gas safety record includes the property address, your details, a description and location of each appliance and flue checked, any safety defect found and what was done about it, the date of the check, and the engineer’s name, Gas Safe registration number and signature.
Keeping records
The legal minimum is two years, or longer if you’re using the two-month window. We go further: we keep every record we issue permanently, and can send you a property’s full history on request, which helps when you sell, change agents or get asked for evidence.
What if your tenant won’t give access?
You can’t force entry, but you do have to show you took all reasonable steps. HSE inspectors look for repeated attempts, usually at least three. Keep a written record of everything: letters and emails explaining that the check is a legal requirement, appointment offers, and a note left at the property whenever a visit fails. If you have a managing agent, make sure they keep the same trail.
A safety check is not a service
The safety check confirms an appliance is safe to use on the day: it looks for unsafe appliances, poor combustion and blocked flues. A service is maintenance on the appliance itself, which manufacturers require to keep the boiler reliable and its warranty valid. Many landlords have both done in one visit. Ours is priced together on our Prices page (from £155 + VAT in BR postcodes).
Carbon monoxide and smoke alarms
Since 1 October 2022, landlords in England must make sure a carbon monoxide alarm is fitted in any room used as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance. That includes gas boilers and gas fires, but not gas cookers. You also need a smoke alarm on every storey with living accommodation, and you must repair or replace any alarm once you’re told it’s faulty. Councils can fine landlords up to £5,000 for failing to comply with a remedial notice.
Our guide to carbon monoxide warning signs covers where alarms should go.
Making it easy across a portfolio
Deadlines are easiest to miss when tenants change or a property is added to a portfolio. We can set up a recurring annual arrangement with reminders before each check is due, and we work directly with letting agents too. See our landlords & letting agents page.