If you let a property with gas appliances, you normally need an annual gas safety check carried out by a suitably qualified Gas Safe registered engineer. You must keep the record and give a copy to the tenant. People often call that record a gas safety certificate or “CP12”, although the current official term is the Landlord Gas Safety Record.
That is the short version. The detail matters because a gas safety check, a boiler service and a repair are three different things. This guide explains the practical responsibilities in straightforward terms for UK landlords and letting agents.
What is a landlord gas safety certificate?
The document records the results of the legally required safety checks on relevant gas appliances and flues in rented accommodation. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) calls it the Landlord Gas Safety Record. You will still hear engineers, landlords and agents call it a certificate or CP12.
Why CP12? Before the present Gas Safe Register arrangements, CORGI used a form commonly known as CP12. The trade name stuck. It is a bit like calling every vacuum cleaner a Hoover: people usually understand what is meant, but CP12 is not the current statutory name of one compulsory standard form. What matters is that the record contains the required information and that the check was completed by the right engineer.
Who is responsible?
Landlords must arrange safety checks for gas appliances and flues they own and provide for tenants. The duties cover more than conventional private tenancies: the HSE lists housing associations, local authorities, hotels, hostels, boarding schools and some other accommodation providers. A homeowner taking in a paying lodger can also acquire landlord duties.
If you use a managing agent, the contract should state who arranges checks, maintenance and record keeping. Do not assume that instructing an agent makes the legal responsibility evaporate. Make the allocation clear, check that the work happened and retain access to the records.
A tenant’s own gas appliance is treated differently from one supplied by the landlord, although the landlord retains responsibilities for associated installation pipework. Unusual arrangements—commercial premises with a flat above, subletting, long leases or mixed ownership—deserve case-specific advice rather than a guess from a general article.
How often is the check required?
Each relevant appliance and flue must be checked every year. Before a new tenancy begins, the appliances and flues must have been checked within the preceding year and the new tenant must receive the current record before moving in.
There is useful flexibility in the timing. If a check is carried out during the final two months before the existing deadline, a landlord can retain the original expiry date instead of bringing the renewal date forward every year. In practical terms, the check may be completed in the 10-to-12-month window while preserving the anniversary date. To use that flexibility, keep the earlier records that demonstrate the dates.
Do not leave access arrangements until the final day. Engineer availability, tenant diaries and winter workloads have an unfortunate habit of meeting in the same week.
Who can perform the check?
Use a Gas Safe registered engineer who is competent for the particular appliances and work involved. Check the business on the Gas Safe Register and look at the engineer’s ID card when they arrive. The reverse of the card shows the categories of work they are qualified to undertake.
A registration number on an advert is not a substitute for checking it. The details should match the person and business attending the property.
What must the record contain?
The HSE says the record must include, as a minimum:
- a description and location of every appliance or flue checked;
- the engineer’s name, registration number and signature;
- the date of the check;
- the property address;
- the landlord’s or agent’s name and address;
- any safety-related defect and remedial action taken; and
- confirmation that the required safety matters were examined.
There is no rule requiring one particular branded CP12 pad. A compliant electronic record is acceptable if it can be printed when required, is protected from interference or loss and uniquely identifies the engineer.
When must tenants receive it?
Give an existing tenant a copy within 28 days of the completed check. Give a new tenant the current record before they move in. Electronic delivery can be used where the tenant is happy to receive it and can access it, but provide paper if requested.
Keep each record for at least two years. If you use the flexible 10-to-12-month renewal window, the HSE says records need to be retained until two further checks have been carried out so that compliance with the timing can be shown.
Is a gas safety check the same as a boiler service?
No. This is one of the most important points in the guide.
The gas safety check covers specified safety matters and creates the landlord record. A service follows the appliance manufacturer’s maintenance instructions and may involve additional inspection, cleaning or maintenance. The HSE explicitly warns landlords not to assume that a service automatically covers every required safety-check point, or that a safety check alone provides effective maintenance.
You can often arrange both during the same appointment, but agree the scope when booking and check that the paperwork records both pieces of work where applicable.
What if the engineer finds a problem?
The safety record should still be issued when the check is completed; it should not be held back until repairs are finished. Treat it as a living record and keep evidence of the follow-up action with it.
If an engineer classifies an appliance as unsafe and disconnects or labels it, do not reconnect or use it. Arrange appropriate remedial work. Where heating has been disconnected, the HSE advises landlords to provide emergency heating while arranging repair and to seek advice from the local authority where necessary.
A safety check is not a promise that an appliance will remain fault-free for the next 12 months. Landlords also have a continuing duty to maintain gas pipework, appliances and flues in a safe condition. Respond sensibly when a tenant reports a leak, fault code, carbon monoxide alarm or loss of heating.
What if a tenant will not provide access?
You must not force entry simply because the check is due. Your tenancy agreement should allow reasonable access for safety and maintenance work. If access is refused, the HSE expects landlords to take reasonable steps and retain evidence.
Write to the tenant, explain that the check is a legal safety requirement, offer practical appointment choices and keep records of letters, emails, messages and attempted visits. Leave details after an unsuccessful appointment. What counts as reasonable depends on the circumstances and can ultimately be a matter for a court, so seek legal advice if cooperation cannot be achieved.
What about carbon monoxide alarms?
Alarm requirements vary across the UK. In England, relevant landlords must provide a carbon monoxide alarm in any room used as living accommodation containing a fixed combustion appliance, excluding gas cookers, and repair or replace an alarm found faulty after a tenant report. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own housing rules. Check the current rules for the nation where the property is located.
An alarm is an additional warning device, not a replacement for checks, maintenance or correct installation.
Has the Renters’ Rights Act changed gas-safety certificates?
Not the basic annual duty. In England, the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 changed several private-renting rules from 1 May 2026, but landlords must still meet the existing gas-safety obligations: maintain relevant gas equipment, arrange the annual check and give tenants the record on time.
The Act also provides for a private rented sector database. Its explanatory notes say future regulations may require evidence such as gas-safety certificates to be uploaded and kept current. That does not replace the check or the record you give to the tenant. Because the detailed database requirements depend on regulations and implementation, check current GOV.UK guidance before relying on any new administrative process.
A practical landlord checklist
- List the gas appliances and flues you provide.
- Record the current check deadline and set reminders well in advance.
- Book a correctly qualified Gas Safe registered engineer.
- Tell the engineer whether you also require servicing or repairs.
- Arrange access with the tenant in writing.
- Read the completed record and act on defects.
- Send the tenant’s copy within the required timescale.
- Store the record and evidence of remedial work securely.
If there is an immediate gas concern
If gas can be smelled or a leak is suspected, open doors and windows, avoid naked flames and electrical switches, turn the gas off at the meter if it is safe and you know how, and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. Do not wait for the annual check.
The sensible summary
Arrange the check annually, use the right engineer, give tenants the record on time and keep evidence. Remember that the Landlord Gas Safety Record—still widely called a CP12—is not automatically a full boiler service. A tidy calendar and tidy paperwork are considerably cheaper than trying to reconstruct both after something goes wrong.
Three common CP12 questions
Does every appliance need a separate record?
Usually one record can list all relevant appliances and flues checked at the property, provided each is clearly identified with its location and result.
Does installing a new boiler replace the annual check?
Do not assume that commissioning paperwork covers every appliance or every matter required for the landlord check. Ask the engineer exactly what was checked and confirm the next annual deadline.
Can a landlord complete the check personally?
Only if that landlord is appropriately Gas Safe registered and competent for the specific work. Owning the property is not a gas qualification.