Gas safety certificate when renting: yearly, 28 days to hand over, two years to keep

The piece of paper most tenants in Britain never see is called a gas safety check record. The landlord has to produce it, a Gas Safe registered engineer has to carry out the check, and it has to happen every year. Here is what the record must contain, when you must be given it, and what to do if you are not.

Who counts as a landlord under the gas rules?

Under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, a landlord is anyone who rents out a property they own under a lease shorter than seven years, or under a licence. The duties cover housing let by local authorities, housing associations, private landlords, housing co-operatives and hostels; rooms in bed-sit accommodation, private households, bed and breakfast accommodation and hotels; and rented holiday accommodation such as chalets, cottages, flats, caravans and narrow boats on inland waterways.

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If the lease runs longer than seven years and is for life, the landlord is not responsible for gas safety checks and maintenance. But where accommodation comes with a job — a vicar, a publican — the duties for maintenance and safety checks continue.

What exactly must the landlord do?

GOV.UK sets out three duties. The landlord must make sure gas equipment they supply is safely installed and maintained by a Gas Safe registered engineer; have a registered engineer carry out an annual gas safety check on each appliance and flue; and give the tenant a copy of the gas safety check record before they move in, or within 28 days of the check.

What has to be in the record?

The HSE minimum: a description and the location of each appliance or flue checked; the name, registration number and signature of the person who carried out the check; the date the appliance or flue was checked; the address of the property where it is installed; the name and address of the landlord or their agent; any safety-related defect found and any remedial action taken; and confirmation that the check covered paragraphs (a) to (d) of regulation 26(9) of the same 1998 regulations.

Records can be kept electronically provided the copy can be reproduced in hard copy when needed — for the tenant, the HSE or the housing department — is secure from loss and interference, and uniquely identifies the Gas Safe registered engineer. An electronic copy can go to the tenant if they are happy to receive it that way, but a paper copy must be provided on request.

How long are records kept?

At least two years. Since 2018 a check may be carried out up to two months before it is due while keeping the original deadline date, as if it had been done exactly 12 months after the previous one. A landlord using that flexibility has to keep the record until two further gas safety checks have been carried out.

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What if the tenant will not let the engineer in?

The contract with the tenant should allow access for maintenance and safety check work. The landlord must not use force to enter. They have to show they took all reasonable steps: leaving a notice that an attempt was made, with contact details; writing to explain that the check is a legal requirement and is for the tenant's own safety; giving the tenant the chance to arrange their own appointment. HSE inspectors look for repeated attempts, and ultimately a court decides whether what was done was reasonable.

What else must a landlord provide?

Electrical safety: a safe electrical system — sockets and light fittings — and safe appliances they supply, such as cookers and kettles. Fire safety: a smoke alarm on each storey and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a solid fuel burning appliance, such as a coal fire or wood burning stove; access to escape routes at all times; fire-safe furniture and furnishings; and fire alarms and extinguishers in a large house in multiple occupation.

Separately from gas, the landlord must keep the property itself safe and free from health hazards.

And the pipework?

Installation pipework is not covered by the annual gas safety check. The HSE recommends asking the engineer, when a check is requested, to test the whole gas system for soundness including the installation pipework, and to examine the pipework visually as far as is reasonably practicable. Keeping pipework in a safe condition is the landlord's duty.

Who does this apply to?

The most common private tenancy is an assured periodic tenancy. A tenancy is not an APT if the landlord lives in the same accommodation; if the landlord is a local council; if it is purpose-built student accommodation where the landlord has signed the National Code of practice; if the fixed term is over 21 years; if the rent is more than £100,000 a year or less than £250 a year (less than £1,000 in London); or if it is a business tenancy, a tenancy of licensed premises, or a holiday let.