Gas Safety Explained
Gas Safety Certificate vs Boiler Service: What Is the Difference?
For London landlords, a gas safety certificate records the annual gas safety check; a boiler service maintains the boiler according to its manufacturer’s instructions. Neither automatically includes the other, although both can be arranged in one visit.
The difference matters when deciding which appliances, maintenance tasks and records your booking needs to cover.
Smell gas: leave and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. For suspected carbon monoxide symptoms, get fresh air and call NHS 111, or 999 if serious.
Have your postcode, the gas appliances you provide and your current certificate's expiry date ready.
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The Landlord’s Duties: Annual Safety Checks and Ongoing Maintenance
Regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 requires annual safety checks of landlord gas appliances and flues, alongside maintenance of relevant gas fittings and flues in a safe condition. These are separate duties under England’s rules.
A boiler service alone does not discharge the annual safety-check obligation. Equally, completing the annual check does not establish that all necessary maintenance has been carried out. Landlords must give existing tenants the Landlord Gas Safety Record within 28 days of the check and new tenants a copy before they move in.
- Safety check: regulation 36(3) requires the annual inspection of the landlord’s gas appliances and relevant flues, with the findings recorded.
- Maintenance: regulation 36(2) requires relevant gas fittings and flues to be maintained safely. Boiler servicing contributes to this duty, following the manufacturer’s instructions.
See our landlord gas safety checks in London for arranging the annual inspection.
Gas Safety Check and Boiler Service Compared
Overlapping safety checks do not make a boiler service and a landlord gas safety inspection interchangeable. HSE guidance distinguishes checking safety from maintaining appliances; the purpose, appliance coverage and evidence all matter.
Purpose
the landlord gas safety check assesses safety at the time of inspection. A boiler service carries out the boiler’s scheduled maintenance.
Appliances covered
the landlord check covers all landlord-provided gas appliances and relevant flues. A boiler service covers the booked boiler, without automatically including a cooker, hob or gas fire.
Governing requirement
regulation 36 requires the landlord safety check. Servicing follows manufacturer instructions and supports the separate duty to maintain gas fittings safely.
Work involved
the safety inspection checks matters such as safe operation, ventilation and flue performance. Servicing includes inspection, performance checks, and cleaning or adjustment where the manufacturer specifies them.
Timing
the landlord check is annual. Boiler servicing follows the manufacturer’s maintenance schedule, which must be considered separately when choosing an appointment.
Resulting evidence
the Landlord Gas Safety Record documents inspection findings. Service evidence describes the boiler maintenance performed; its format can vary.
What each does not replace
a safety record does not establish that scheduled servicing was completed. Boiler servicing does not replace the required inspection and record for all landlord gas appliances.
If both activities are needed, explicitly request both. Confirm the appliance list and the evidence you will receive before agreeing the appointment.
A Boiler Service Does Not Cover the Other Landlord Gas Appliances
Servicing the boiler does not establish that the landlord’s cooker, hob, gas fire or other gas appliances have received their required safety checks.
List landlord appliances
include the boiler and any gas cooker, hob, range cooker, fire or water heater supplied with the property.
Identify ownership
distinguish appliances supplied by the landlord from tenants’ own appliances. Tenant ownership does not remove responsibilities for relevant landlord-owned pipework or flues.
Check the heating arrangement
a flat supplied by a heat network through a heat interface unit may have no individual gas boiler. Other gas appliances, such as a landlord-provided hob, still need consideration.
Consider a hypothetical London rental with a landlord-provided boiler and gas hob. Servicing the boiler addresses its maintenance. The landlord gas safety check must account for both appliances and any relevant flues, even if the hob appears to work normally.
Before booking, make three scope checks:
Servicing Follows the Boiler’s Maintenance Schedule
A boiler service follows the manufacturer’s maintenance instructions, while the landlord gas safety check records the required safety inspection. Servicing may involve inspection, combustion performance checks, and cleaning or adjustment where specified for that boiler. There is no single cleaning checklist that applies to every model.
An annual safety check does not establish that these maintenance tasks have been completed. HSE recommends following the manufacturer’s instructions; where those instructions are unavailable, it recommends annual servicing unless a Gas Safe registered engineer advises otherwise. Have the boiler details and available service history ready so the engineer can identify the applicable maintenance requirements.
Check your manufacturer’s terms: warranty servicing requirements depend on the terms applying to the boiler. A CP12 alone is not evidence that those requirements have been met. Keep evidence of the maintenance performed, and check the applicable terms before assuming that either an inspection or a service preserves warranty cover.
Check What the Paperwork Actually Records
A service invoice or service entry does not by itself show that the landlord gas safety inspection was completed. Read the work described and check it against the booking.
Landlord Gas Safety Record
This records appliance-by-appliance inspection findings, including defects. A record can still be issued when an appliance is unsafe. Follow the warning notice and arrange necessary remedial work with a Gas Safe registered engineer; keep evidence of follow-up action with the record history.
Boiler Service Evidence
This describes the boiler maintenance performed. Ask what documentation will be supplied. The distinction between inspection and maintenance does not require two separate sheets or a particular service-certificate format.
- Match the property and visit date to your appointment.
- Compare the appliances listed with those you asked to be checked.
- Identify inspection findings, maintenance completed and any outstanding action.
Keep the safety record until two further checks of the appliance or flue have taken place. For a removed appliance or flue, retain it for two years from its last check.
Confirm the Work Before Arranging Tenant Access
Name the landlord gas safety check and the boiler service separately when booking both. A request for a “boiler appointment” leaves the scope unclear.
Use these five questions before agreeing tenant access:
- Which landlord gas appliances and relevant flues are included in the safety check?
- Does the booking also include boiler servicing according to the manufacturer’s maintenance schedule?
- Do the attending engineer’s Gas Safe ID card categories cover every appliance and activity booked?
- What records will document the safety inspection and the boiler maintenance?
- Does the proposed appointment fit the existing safety-check deadline and the tenant’s access arrangements?
Have the appliance list, previous safety record, boiler details and available service history ready. Tell the booking team about known access restrictions so they can understand the work requested; a combined appointment does not ensure that inaccessible or unsafe work can be completed.
Landlord gas safety certificates
Arrange a CP12 and Boiler Service in London
If you need both activities, discuss a combined CP12 and boiler service visit in London with All Service 4 U. Our Gas Safe registered engineers carry out the booked work; our business registration is 648977.
Have your postcode, landlord appliance list, boiler details and existing check deadline ready. Call 020 3740 6785; our phone line is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
020 3740 6785
Frequently Asked Questions
What Does CP12 Stand For?
CP12 is the familiar historic form label commonly used for today’s Landlord Gas Safety Record. It refers to the record of the landlord gas safety inspection. It does not mean the boiler has been serviced, and landlords do not have to use one particular commercial form to record the required information.
Can I Get the Landlord CP12 and Boiler Service Done in One Visit?
Yes, both can be arranged for one visit when explicitly booked, with an appropriately qualified engineer and access to the appliances and flues. Combining attendance keeps the two activities distinct: the safety inspection covers the landlord appliances, while servicing addresses boiler maintenance. Ask what records will evidence each activity and whether any access restrictions could affect completion.
How Often Do I Need a CP12, and Can I Book It Early?
The landlord safety check is annual, with an early-check mechanism under regulation 36A. A check within the two months ending with the existing deadline can preserve that deadline when the conditions are met. This does not change the boiler manufacturer’s service schedule or create extra time after the safety-check deadline. Check both dates when planning a combined appointment.
What Happens if the Landlord Gas Safety Check Is Overdue?
A boiler service does not extend the landlord safety-check deadline, and there is no grace period after it. Arrange the overdue check promptly and retain the actual inspection dates. If access is difficult, document the reasonable steps taken to arrange it, including correspondence with the tenant. A later inspection does not retrospectively erase the missed deadline.
My Boiler Has Been Labelled Unsafe: What Does That Mean?
If you smell gas, leave and call 0800 111 999; for suspected carbon monoxide symptoms, get fresh air and call NHS 111, or 999 if serious. Treat a CO alarm as real.
Immediately Dangerous means immediate danger; At Risk means recognised faults could cause danger. The engineer seeks permission to disconnect or turn off as appropriate and provides warnings. The safety record still documents findings. Follow the warning notice and do not use the boiler until made safe.
Still have a question or need urgent assistance? Call 020 3740 6785, tell us what has happened and we will tell you what happens next.