Gas safety certificate
Annual proof that a rented property's gas appliances have been checked and are safe — a legal requirement, not an optional extra.
How often must a gas safety check be carried out?
At least once every 12 months for each gas appliance, fitting and flue in the property, carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
What should I do if my landlord has never provided a certificate?
Ask in writing, keep a record of the request, and if there is no response, report the failure to the Health and Safety Executive, which enforces the regulations.
Does a gas safety certificate cover electrical appliances too?
No. It covers gas appliances, fittings and flues only. Electrical safety is covered separately by an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR), which is a distinct legal requirement.
Who has to pay for the gas safety check?
The landlord. It is their legal duty to arrange and pay for the annual check, not the tenant's.
Can I refuse the landlord access for the annual check?
The tenancy agreement will usually require reasonable access for safety inspections, and refusing access can itself cause problems, since the landlord needs it to comply with their own legal duty. Reasonable notice should be given by the landlord.
What the law requires
Under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, a landlord who rents out a property with gas appliances must have each one checked for safety within 12 months of installation, and then at intervals of no more than 12 months after that. The check must be carried out by an engineer registered with Gas Safe, the body that replaced CORGI as the official gas registration scheme.
The landlord must give a copy of the current certificate to existing tenants within 28 days of the check, and to new tenants before they move in, or as soon as reasonably practicable afterwards for a tenant moving in at very short notice. Records of past checks must generally be kept for at least two years.
What happens if a landlord does not comply
- A tenant who has not received a current certificate should ask the landlord or agent for a copy in writing, keeping a record of the request.
- Report to the Health and Safety Executive.
- The HSE enforces the regulations and can investigate a landlord who fails to carry out checks or provide certificates — this is a criminal, not just a civil, matter.
- Raise it as part of a wider complaint.
- A missing gas safety certificate can support a wider complaint about the property's condition, and in serious cases forms part of the evidence a local authority or tribunal considers.
- Consider the impact on possession proceedings.
- In some circumstances, failing to provide required safety documentation, including a gas safety certificate, at the right time can affect a landlord's ability to rely on certain grounds for possession.
A tenant moves into a rented flat with a gas boiler and hob but is never given a copy of a gas safety certificate. Eighteen months later, they ask their landlord for one and are told none has ever been carried out.
This is a breach of the landlord's legal duty under the 1998 Regulations, independent of whether anything has actually gone wrong with the gas appliances. The tenant can report the failure to the Health and Safety Executive, and can also ask the landlord to arrange an inspection immediately, given the appliances have gone unchecked for the entire tenancy.
Fitness for Human Habitation
Grounds for possession
Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998
Gas safety — landlords and letting agents
Your landlord's safety responsibilities
Gas Safety Certificate — Renters' Rights Glossary
What a gas safety certificate is, why landlords must provide one every year, and what a tenant can do if a landlord fails to comply.