UnitCareGas safety certificates for landlords: the rules in plain English
This guide covers England. It's general information, not legal advice. Rules in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are different.
The short version
- Every gas appliance and flue you provide needs a safety check at least every 12 months.
- The check must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
- Give existing tenants a copy of the record within 28 days of the check, and new tenants a copy before they move in.
- Keep each record until two more checks have been done.
- You can do the check up to 2 months early and keep your original renewal date.
What the gas safety check covers
The legal duty comes from regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. As a landlord you must keep the gas fittings and flues you provide in a safe condition, and have each appliance and flue checked within 12 months of it being installed and then at least every 12 months after that.
After the check the engineer gives you a record, usually called a landlord gas safety record or CP12. It lists each appliance checked, any problems found and what was done about them.
The check only has to be done by an engineer on the Gas Safe Register. Before booking, you can check the engineer's ID number on the Gas Safe Register website.
Who needs a copy, and when
| Who | When |
|---|---|
| Each existing tenant | Within 28 days of the check |
| A new tenant | Before they move in |
| Short stays of 28 days or less | You can display the record somewhere obvious in the property instead |
Email works fine for giving tenants their copy. Keep proof that you sent it.
How long to keep the records
Keep each gas safety record until two further checks have been carried out. In practice that means holding at least the last two years of records. If an appliance is removed, keep its last record for 2 years.
Renewing early without losing time
Regulation 36A says that a check done within the 2 months before the deadline counts as if it was done on the deadline. So if your certificate runs out on 30 November, a check on 10 October still gives you a renewal date of 30 November next year. This makes it much easier to fit around tenants and engineers without slowly pulling your renewal date earlier each year.
Book the engineer about 6 to 8 weeks before the expiry date. That leaves time to rearrange if the tenant isn't in.
If the tenant won't give access
You still need to show you took reasonable steps. Write to the tenant to explain why the check matters, offer a few dates and keep a copy of every message and attempted visit. A dated record of what you tried is your evidence if anything goes wrong later.
A simple routine that works
- Write down the expiry date of every gas safety record, one per property.
- Set a reminder for 2 months before. Book the engineer then.
- Send the new record to every tenant on the day you get it.
- File the PDF with the property, and keep the previous one too.
UnitCare does steps 1 and 2 for you. Add the date once and it emails you a month before, a week before and if it goes overdue. When it's done, tap Done and it works out next year's date.