About the gas safety certificate

As a landlord, you have a number of legal obligations towards your tenant, but issuing a gas safety certificate is probably the most important. This is your documented proof that your flues, appliances and all relevant equipment have been checked by a qualified gas safety engineer within the last 12 months.

It is also commonly known as a CORGI Proforma or CP12 and dates back to the days when CORGI was responsible for ensuring the safety of all gas appliances in a property. Since 2009, this has been the responsibility of the Gas Safety Register, which contains the official list of gas engineers who can legally work on gas appliances in the UK. They are the only qualified professionals who can carry out inspections and a list of qualified engineers in your area can be found on their website.

It is a good idea for a tenant to have an annual gas maintenance contract as this ensures that the gas appliances are in the best condition and are likely to last longer. Annual gas safety check renewals can easily be carried out as part of this annual service.

Having a service contract also gives your tenants peace of mind as it shows that you take your responsibilities as a landlord seriously and can quickly ensure that the boiler and other gas appliances are repaired if problems arise. It will also give your tenants a separate point of contact with the company you have a service contract within the event of a gas emergency.

You must have a Gas Safety Certificate for all gas appliances available in your rented property. This is a legal requirement and gas safety certificate must be renewed every year. Without a certificate, you risk a hefty fine and the appliances may be unsafe for tenants.

A landlord’s gas safety certificate is a legal requirement.

• It is illegal to rent a property without a gas safety certificate.
• Nobody said being a landlord would be easy! Carrying out repairs for tenants, keeping gas appliances and wiring safe and helping tenants with other housing emergencies can take up a large part of your rental income.

Wouldn’t it be nice to rent out properties without all these problems and expenses?

The Gas Safety Certificate includes

• All gas appliance are liable to be checked for gas tightness.
• If there are inspection points available, the gas condition and working pressure will be checked.
• A gas safety engineer will check the burner pressure and gas quantity against the manufacturer’s rating plate.
• All suspected flame failure devices must be checked to your satisfaction.
• The flue flow will be checked to ensure that the products of combustion are being discharged.
• All necessary ventilation will be checked.
• Any evidence of unsafe operation will be investigated and reported.
• The effectiveness and stability of the brackets should be checked whenever necessary to ensure physical stability.
• If all the above checks have not been carried out, the appliance cannot be issued with a gas safety certificate.

Responsibilities of the tenant

• It is your responsibility to obtain a gas safety certificate every twelve months.
• You must obtain this from a registered gas safe engineer for all pipework, gas appliances, and flues installed on your property.
• If you use an agent to manage your property, you must make sure that the contract clearly states in black and white who is responsible for maintaining the gas appliances.
• You should also keep copies of all documents. You must keep a safety check record for two years and give a copy to all your tenants within 28 days of the check.
• If your tenants change, they will need a copy of the gas safety certificate before they move in. If your contract makes the agent responsible, the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 are passed to them.