Gas Safety Certificates for Tenants

Under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, landlords must:

• Arrange a gas safety check of all gas appliances, flues, and pipework in the property every 12 months, carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
• Provide a copy of the gas safety certificate (formally called a Gas Safety Record) to each tenant within 28 days of the check being completed.
• Give a new tenant a copy of the most recent gas safety certificate before they move in.
• Keep a record of the last two years' gas safety certificates.

Only Gas Safe registered engineers can legally carry out gas safety checks in rented properties. You can verify any engineer's registration at the Gas Safe Register website. A landlord who uses an unregistered engineer is committing an offence, and any certificate issued by an unregistered engineer is not valid.

The annual gas safety check covers all gas appliances, fittings, flues, and pipework within the property. This typically includes:

• Gas boilers and central heating systems
• Gas cookers and hobs (if the landlord provided them)
• Gas fires and space heaters
• Flues and chimneys connected to gas appliances
• Gas pipework supplying appliances

Note that the check covers appliances provided by the landlord. If you brought a gas appliance yourself (for example, a portable gas heater), the landlord is not responsible for checking it — though you should ensure it is safe and properly connected.

After the check, the engineer will issue a Gas Safety Record showing the results for each appliance. If an appliance is found to be unsafe, the engineer must take it out of service immediately (marking it "immediately dangerous") or advise on remedial action required.

If your landlord has not provided a gas safety certificate, write to them requesting it immediately. Keep a copy of your request. If they fail to provide one, you have several options:

• Report to the HSE: The Health and Safety Executive enforces gas safety regulations in rented properties. You can report a non-compliant landlord online via the HSE website.
• Use it as a Section 21 defence: If your landlord subsequently tries to evict you using a Section 21 notice, you can raise the failure to provide a gas safety certificate as a defence — the notice will be invalid.
• Contact the council: Your local authority's environmental health team also has powers to investigate gas safety issues in rented properties.

Do not feel pressured into allowing access for a gas safety check on very short notice — while you should not unreasonably refuse access, you are entitled to agree a convenient time. If you are concerned about the safety of a gas appliance right now, do not use it and contact the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999.

Gas safety legislation gives tenants meaningful tools to enforce compliance — and non-compliance by a landlord has significant legal consequences beyond simply being a regulatory breach.

If your landlord has failed to provide a valid gas safety certificate, your most immediate options are:

• Written demand: Send a formal letter or email requesting the certificate within a specified reasonable period (7–14 days). Keep evidence of sending. This creates a clear paper trail and demonstrates you have attempted to resolve the matter before escalating.
• HSE complaint: The Health and Safety Executive has enforcement powers under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. You can report non-compliant landlords via the HSE website or by telephone. The HSE can issue improvement notices, prohibition notices, and prosecute landlords.
• Local authority referral: Your council's environmental health team can also investigate and take enforcement action. Some councils operate proactive licensing schemes for HMOs which include gas safety checks.

Critically, a landlord who has not provided a valid gas safety certificate before serving notice cannot rely on a Section 21 no-fault eviction notice. This applies even if the certificate existed at the time but was not given to the tenant before the tenancy began. If you receive a Section 21 notice and have not received a gas safety certificate, raise this as a defence immediately — the notice is invalid and the landlord must start the process again after coming into compliance.

The landlord's failure to comply is a criminal offence carrying an unlimited fine on summary conviction. Courts take gas safety breaches seriously, particularly given the fatal risks associated with carbon monoxide poisoning and gas explosions in domestic properties.