What a landlord gas safety check covers
What the certificate actually covers, when you legally need it, and the difference between a safety check and a service.
If you let a property with a gas appliance in it, you have a legal duty under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 to have it checked every twelve months by a Gas Safe registered engineer. The document you get is properly called a Landlord Gas Safety Record, and everybody calls it a CP12.
What gets checked
Every gas appliance and every flue that you as the landlord are responsible for. The engineer is looking at:
- That the appliance is burning gas correctly, at the right operating pressure
- That the flue is clearing the products of combustion properly, with a flue flow and spillage test
- That there is enough permanent ventilation for the appliance, and that it has not been blocked up
- That the safety devices on the appliance actually work
- That the gas installation is sound — a tightness test on the pipework, and a look at the meter and any visible pipe
Anything found unsafe is classified, labelled and — with your permission — disconnected. The categories run from At Risk up to Immediately Dangerous, and the engineer has a duty to act on them regardless of how inconvenient it is.
What it does not cover
It also does not cover a tenant's own appliances — if they brought their own gas cooker, that is theirs. The connection to it, though, is generally yours.
The dates that matter
| What | When |
|---|---|
| Check carried out | Every 12 months |
| Copy to the existing tenant | Within 28 days of the check |
| Copy to a new tenant | Before they move in |
| Records kept | At least 2 years |
There is a useful bit of flexibility worth knowing: you can have the check done up to two months before the anniversary date and keep the original expiry date, rather than losing part of the year. It means you can bundle it with other work rather than scrambling in the last fortnight.
If the tenant will not let you in
You still have the duty. What is expected is that you take reasonable steps and can show you did — write to them, offer appointments, keep copies of everything. Document the attempts. A record of three written attempts is a defensible position; a shrug is not.
What else you are on the hook for
- A carbon monoxide alarm in any room used as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance — this applies to gas, oil and solid fuel
- Smoke alarms on every storey
- Repairing an alarm the tenant reports as faulty
Doing it sensibly
If you have more than one property, group them. Checks done together in one visit are cheaper than the same checks done one at a time across the year, and the void period between tenancies is the easiest window for anything more disruptive — a drain-down, a pressure test, or work that needs the water off.
We do single lets and small portfolios across Norwich and Norfolk, and we will keep a note of when yours is due rather than leaving you to remember.
Still stuck?
Send a photo on WhatsApp and we will tell you straight whether it needs a visit. If it is urgent, ring — the emergency line is open at any hour.
