Guide 03 · Landlords
Landlord gas safety, in plain English.
What a CP12 actually is, what it covers, the deadlines that matter, and what happens when something fails — written for landlords in Guildford and Surrey who would rather understand it once than ring an agent every year.
What the law asks of you
If you let residential property in England with gas in it, you must have every gas appliance and flue you own checked for safety every twelve months by a Gas Safe registered engineer, keep the record, and give the tenant a copy. The document people call a CP12 or a landlord gas safety certificate is that record. It is not optional, it is not annual in the sense of “roughly once a year”, and it is not the same thing as a service.
It is also the single easiest compliance item to get wrong, because it is usually remembered a fortnight before a tenancy starts rather than on its anniversary. The fix is dull and effective: book the check and the service together, in the two-month window before the current certificate expires, and keep every property on the same date.
What the check covers
- Every gas appliance in the property that the landlord owns — boiler, hob, oven, fire, water heater
- The flue or chimney serving each of those appliances, along its accessible length
- The gas installation pipework, tested for tightness
- Ventilation to each appliance — enough air in the room for it to burn properly
- The safety devices on each appliance, proved by operation rather than assumed
A flat with a combi and a gas hob is two appliances. A house with a boiler, a hob and a gas fire is three. Say what is in the property when you book and the visit gets the right amount of time.
The questions landlords actually ask
- How often, exactly?
- Every twelve months. A check can be carried out in the two months before the current certificate expires without losing the original date, which is the sensible way to keep a portfolio on one anniversary rather than drifting later each year.
- What has to go to the tenant?
- A copy of the record within 28 days of the check, and a copy to any new tenant before they move in. Keep records for at least two years. Most disputes over gas safety turn out to be disputes over whether anyone handed the paperwork over.
- Does a tenant’s own gas appliance count?
- The landlord’s duty covers the appliances and flues the landlord owns, plus the installation pipework. If a tenant has brought in their own gas appliance, the connecting flue and the pipework up to it still fall to the landlord — which is a trap worth knowing about.
- What if the tenant will not let anyone in?
- Keep a written record of every attempt: letters, texts, emails, appointment dates. Demonstrating that you took all reasonable steps is what protects you, and repeated refusal has its own process. It is not a reason to let the certificate lapse quietly.
- Is a gas safety check the same as a service?
- No, and letting agents mix them up constantly. The check is a safety inspection for the tenant’s protection; a service is maintenance of the appliance for the owner’s benefit, including cleaning and the checks the manufacturer specifies. Most landlords are better off booking both in one visit — it is one attendance and one appointment with the tenant.
- What happens if something fails?
- Faults are classified — broadly, Immediately Dangerous or At Risk — and unsafe appliances are disconnected or turned off with your permission and labelled. You are told what failed, what it takes to put it right and what that involves, and the appliance is not signed off until it is safe. Nobody enjoys that visit, but it is the visit that matters.
And the one that is not about paperwork
If a tenant reports the smell of gas, tell them to ring the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 immediately, turn the supply off at the meter if they can safely reach it, open windows, leave electrical switches alone and get everyone out. That call comes before ringing you, the agent or any engineer.
Booking it here
Gas work is carried out by Gas Safe registered engineers, and the certificate can be done alongside the annual boiler service so the tenant is disturbed once rather than twice. Email the property address, the appliances in it and the tenant's contact details and the visit can be arranged directly with them — for a small portfolio that is one email instead of six phone calls.
Certificate due, or already late?
Ring 01483 235549 — Mon–Fri, 7.30am–6pm · closed Saturday & Sunday. Say how many appliances are in the property and whether the tenant is in during the day, and it can usually be booked straight in.