Gas Safety Certificate (CP12): What Landlords Are Required to Do
Private landlords in England and Wales with gas appliances or gas installations at their rental properties are required to arrange an annual Gas Safety Check, carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and to keep and provide records of that check to tenants. This obligation is set out in the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. This guide explains what landlords must do, when, and what the consequences of non-compliance may be. It is derived from the Regulations and official GOV.UK guidance. It is not legal advice.
Failure to comply with the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 is a criminal offence. On summary conviction, the maximum penalty is an unlimited fine and/or up to six months' imprisonment. This is not a civil penalty — it is a criminal matter. Landlords should treat gas safety compliance as a priority obligation.
What landlords are required to do
Regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 sets out the core obligations on landlords. The three main duties are:
- Arrange an annual gas safety check. All gas appliances and flues provided for the use of tenants must be checked at intervals of no more than 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer. The check covers the appliance itself, its installation pipework, and any flue or chimney associated with it.
- keep a dated record. The landlord must keep a dated record of each annual safety check for at least two years from the date of the check.
- Provide a copy of the record to tenants. A copy of the Gas Safety Record — commonly referred to as the CP12 — must be provided to tenants within the timescales set out below.
Which appliances are covered
The obligation applies to gas appliances and flues that are provided by the landlord for the tenant's use. This typically includes:
- Gas boilers and central heating systems
- Gas fires and gas fireplaces
- Gas cookers and hobs provided by the landlord
- Gas water heaters
- All associated pipework, flues, and chimneys serving those appliances
Appliances that belong to the tenant and were not provided by the landlord are not covered by the landlord's obligation under Regulation 36, though the landlord remains responsible for ensuring the installation pipework and flue infrastructure they own is in a safe condition.
If there are no gas appliances at the property and no gas supply is provided, a CP12 is not required. However, if the property has a gas supply even without appliances, it is advisable to document this and take advice on whether any checks are nonetheless appropriate.
The engineer must be Gas Safe registered
Gas safety checks must be carried out by an engineer who is registered with Gas Safe Register for the type of appliance being inspected. This is not optional — a check carried out by an unregistered engineer does not satisfy the Regulation 36 obligation.
Gas Safe Register is the official list of businesses and engineers legally permitted to carry out gas work in the UK. Different categories of gas work require different competencies, and an engineer's registration card shows which types of work they are permitted to carry out. Before allowing any gas work to proceed, landlords should:
- Ask to see the engineer's Gas Safe Register ID card
- Check the expiry date and the types of work the card covers
- Verify the registration at gassaferegister.co.uk
Providing the record to tenants
The timing requirements for providing the Gas Safety Record to tenants differ depending on whether the tenancy is new or ongoing:
| Situation | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Existing tenants | A copy of the Gas Safety Record must be provided within 28 days of the check being completed. |
| New tenants | A copy must be provided before the tenant moves in, or at the start of the tenancy if the tenancy starts before the check is carried out. |
| Tenant requests a copy | Where a tenant requests a copy of a record held by the landlord, it must be provided within 28 days of the request. |
Landlords should retain proof that the record was provided to the tenant and on what date. A cover email or letter accompanying the CP12, with a dated read receipt or delivery confirmation, creates a useful record of service.
Timing the annual check
The check must be carried out at least every 12 months. If an appliance was installed at the start of a tenancy and a check was carried out at that point, the next check is due within 12 months of that initial check, and every 12 months thereafter.
The Regulations permit the check to be carried out up to two months early without losing the original anniversary date for the next check. This means that if the check is due in October but is carried out in August, the next anniversary date remains October of the following year rather than August. This flexibility is useful for planning ahead.
If the previous record shows the check was due within the next two months, a check carried out early can be timed to the original due date rather than the date of the early check.
New appliances and first checks
When a new gas appliance is installed at a rental property, the landlord should arrange for a Gas Safety check to be carried out on that appliance and any associated flues as part of the installation process. The installation itself should be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer, who should issue the appropriate documentation on completion.
Where a new appliance is installed within 12 months of an existing annual check, the landlord does not necessarily need to carry out a separate full annual check immediately — but the new appliance should be included in the next annual check and the records updated accordingly.
What to do if tenants refuse access
Landlords are required under the Regulations to arrange gas safety checks, but they are also required to respect tenants' rights of quiet enjoyment under the tenancy agreement. If a tenant refuses or prevents access for a gas safety check, this does not automatically absolve the landlord of liability, but a landlord who has taken all reasonable steps to comply — and can evidence those steps — has a stronger position if enforcement action or prosecution follows. The 'all reasonable steps' defence is available under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 where the landlord can demonstrate genuine attempts to gain access.
In these circumstances, landlords should:
- Write to the tenant explaining the legal obligation and requesting access on a specific date
- Keep a written record of all requests for access and the tenant's responses
- Attempt access at least two or three times before concluding that access has been refused
- Take legal advice if access continues to be refused — formal routes may include applying to the court for access
Documenting all attempts at access is important. Where a landlord can show they took all reasonable steps to arrange the check, this may be relevant to any regulatory proceedings. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and local authorities enforce the Regulations and their approach to cases where access has been refused may vary.
Records and evidence
The legal minimum is to keep the Gas Safety Record for at least two years. In practice, landlords are well served by keeping records for longer — particularly given the implications of gas safety compliance for possession proceedings under Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 following the Renters' Rights Act 2025.
A complete gas safety evidence trail should include:
- The CP12 record for each annual check
- The date the record was provided to each tenant and the method of service
- Any correspondence with tenants about access
- Records of any remedial work carried out following the check
LettingsLedger tracks your CP12 expiry date and sends advance reminders at 60, 30, and 7 days before the certificate is due for renewal. It records the date the certificate was provided to each tenant and generates the cover letter that accompanies service. Every entry is timestamped in your evidence pack.
Penalties for non-compliance
Failure to comply with the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 is a criminal offence under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Prosecutions may be brought by the Health and Safety Executive or, in some cases, by local authorities.
On summary conviction in a magistrates' court, the maximum penalty is an unlimited fine and/or up to six months' imprisonment. These are criminal penalties — not civil fines.
Beyond the criminal liability, a gas safety failure may also have implications in possession proceedings. Courts assessing Section 8 claims may take account of a landlord's compliance record where it is relevant to the facts of the particular case — this does not automatically determine the outcome of possession proceedings. Landlords should not rely on this as a definitive statement of how any particular court will approach any particular case — courts have broad discretion and each case turns on its own facts.