London Licensing Guide

London Property Licensing and Gas Safety: Borough by Borough

London landlords must check local property licensing requirements alongside national gas safety duties: a licensing exemption does not remove an applicable annual gas safety check. This guide covers the three licensing routes and links to all 32 boroughs and the City of London.

Find your authority, confirm the scheme’s coverage and dates, and prepare the required evidence. CP12 is the commonly used name for the Landlord Gas Safety Record; having one does not establish compliance with every licence condition.

Arrange a Landlord Gas Safety Check 020 3740 6785

Have your postcode, the gas appliances you provide and your current certificate's expiry date ready.

Gas Safe registered: 648977
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Property Licensing and Gas Safety Are Separate Duties

The landlord’s gas safety duty applies independently of whether the property needs a council licence. Regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 requires relevant gas fittings and flues to be maintained safely, with annual safety checks of landlord-provided gas appliances and flues.

Use a Gas Safe registered engineer qualified for the appliances involved. A boiler-only check cannot cover a separate landlord-provided cooker, hob or gas fire. Tenant-owned appliances have a different responsibility boundary. Our guide to landlord gas safety regulations explains the national duty.

Inspection: arrange checks at intervals of no more than 12 months, subject to the statutory timing provisions.
Existing tenants: provide the record within 28 days of the check.
New tenants: provide the record before they move in.
Retention: keep records until two further checks have been completed.

The Annual Gas Certificate Condition on a Property Licence

Where gas is supplied, a licence under Part 2 or Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004 must require annual production of a gas safety certificate to the council.

Statutory condition: Schedule 4 requires a certificate obtained within the previous 12 months.
Local procedure: follow the council’s instructions for applications, submissions and compliance checks.
Evidence retained: keep the certificate and evidence of submission where available.

Supplying a certificate with the initial application does not remove the ongoing condition. Arrange the necessary inspection through our.

Gas safety checks for HMOs and licensed properties

Understand the Three Property Licensing Routes

Mandatory HMO licensing follows a national framework; additional and selective licensing depend on local designations. Occupation, building type, address and exemptions determine which route applies. Several schemes can operate within one borough without every property requiring each licence.

Mandatory HMO Licensing: The National Starting Point

Mandatory HMO licensing generally applies where five or more people from two or more households share facilities, subject to the statutory property definitions and exclusions.

Check:

How many people occupy the property.
How many separate households they form.
The building type and applicable exclusions, including relevant purpose-built-flat exclusions.

People and households are different counts. A property can also be an HMO below the mandatory licensing threshold, so falling below that threshold does not finish the licensing enquiry.

Additional Licensing: Check Which HMOs the Designation Includes

Additional licensing can bring HMOs outside mandatory licensing into a council’s scheme. The designation defines the property categories, geographical coverage, exclusions and operative dates.

Do not assume every scheme covers only three or four sharers. Converted buildings and qualifying section 257 HMOs require particular attention to the designation’s wording. A consultation is a proposal, not evidence that a scheme has started.

Selective Licensing: Single-Household Lets Can Be Included

Selective licensing can apply to privately rented homes within a designated area, including single-household lets, subject to exemptions.

Coverage may be borough-wide or limited to particular areas. A borough can have several designations with different dates. Check the exact address against the designated boundaries, alongside the property type and operative date. Current ward names alone may not describe the scheme’s boundaries accurately.

London Licensing and Gas Safety: All 33 Authorities

All 33 London authorities apply the national mandatory HMO framework; additional and selective licensing require a separate local check. Use the authority links below for local gas safety information, then confirm licensing eligibility with the relevant council.

For each address, check mandatory HMO eligibility, additional licensing categories and coverage, selective licensing coverage, and each designation’s start and end dates. This directory does not establish whether a local designation is currently active. Missing scheme information must not be treated as confirmation that no licence is needed.

Browse all London areas we cover for further local pages.

Confirm Your Address, Property Type and Scheme Dates

Confirm the exact address and property type against the council’s operative designation before deciding which licence applies.

Identify the authority

use the property’s actual location, rather than its postal town or postcode district alone.

Record occupation

establish occupant numbers, households, shared facilities and building type.

Check coverage

match the address to the designation’s boundaries or council property checker.

Check dates

establish commencement, expiry and whether a replacement designation applies.

Read exclusions

ask the council for clarification where the address or property category is uncertain.

A consultation period concerns a proposal. A designation period concerns the scheme’s operation. An individual licence term concerns the licence issued for a property. These dates are distinct, and none extends the gas safety check deadline. An expired designation does not prove there is no successor scheme.

Arrange a Landlord Gas Safety Check 020 3740 6785

Prepare the Gas Safety Evidence Your Council Requires

Keep the current gas safety record and follow the submission instructions attached to your licence and the council’s current process.

Check that your evidence includes:

The correct property address and relevant licence reference.
The inspection date.
The landlord’s or agent’s details.
The engineer’s identification and registration details.
The appliances and flues checked, with recorded findings.
Any warning notice, follow-up documentation and submission confirmation.

A record is issued even when defects are found; its existence does not show that those defects have been resolved. Arrange necessary remedial work with a Gas Safe registered engineer and retain the resulting evidence. Council submission requirements do not replace tenant-copy deadlines or record-retention duties.

If you smell gas, leave and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. For suspected carbon monoxide symptoms, get into fresh air and contact NHS 111, or call 999 if serious.

Landlord gas safety certificates

Arrange a Gas Safety Check for Your London Rental

To arrange a landlord gas safety check, have the property address, appliance list, current check deadline and tenant access details ready. All Service 4 U provides checks for HMOs and licensed rentals through Gas Safe registered engineers; our business registration is 648977.

Mention cookers, hobs, fires, water heaters and shared appliances so the required engineer categories can be confirmed. Our phone line is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Same-day gas safety check appointments are available, subject to availability.

Arrange a Landlord Gas Safety Check: 020 3740 6785

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Frequently Asked Questions

How Do I Obtain a Gas Safety Certificate?

Arrange a gas safety check with a Gas Safe registered business and an engineer qualified for the appliances involved.

Confirm business registration and the engineer’s ID-card work categories.
Arrange access to all relevant landlord appliances and flues.
Obtain the record documenting the inspection and findings.

The record follows the inspection and is still issued when defects are found; it is not a promise that every appliance is safe.

Is a Boiler Service the Same as a Gas Safety Certificate?

No: a boiler service and a landlord gas safety check are different activities.

Boiler service: maintenance following the manufacturer’s schedule.
Gas safety check: the required safety inspection of landlord gas appliances and flues, with the findings recorded.

A service invoice alone does not establish that the landlord’s gas safety check has been completed or supply the gas safety evidence required for a licensed property.

Can the CP12 and Boiler Service Be Done in One Visit?

Yes, we can arrange the landlord gas safety check and boiler service in one visit as two distinct activities. Tell us about every landlord-provided gas appliance when booking, including appliances outside the boiler room or in shared spaces. Coordinating access allows both activities to be planned together; the safety check still needs to cover all relevant landlord appliances and flues.

How Often Is a CP12 Needed, and Can I Book Early?

Landlord gas safety checks normally follow a 12-month cycle, and regulation 36A allows qualifying early checks to preserve the existing deadline. A check within the two months before that deadline can retain it when the regulation’s conditions are met. This is not a grace period. Neither the property licence’s term nor a council submission date extends the gas safety deadline.

What Happens if the Landlord Gas Safety Check Is Overdue?

An overdue required check needs prompt action; a property licence does not create a grace period.

Arrange the outstanding inspection.
Keep accurate records and follow applicable council licence instructions.
Document reasonable access attempts if the tenant is unavailable or refuses entry, and seek appropriate advice.

Do not backdate records or force entry. There is no fixed number of access attempts that automatically satisfies the landlord’s duty.

What Can Fail a Gas Safety Check?

Unsafe appliance operation, ventilation or flue performance can produce adverse findings. Immediately Dangerous means an immediate danger; At Risk identifies faults that could become dangerous. The engineer explains the findings and warning notice, seeking permission for isolation or disconnection as appropriate. The record is still issued. Follow the safety instructions, arrange remedial work with a Gas Safe registered engineer and retain evidence of the follow-up action.

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.

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