Tenant Gas Safety
Your Landlord and Gas Safety: A Tenant’s Guide
For tenants in London, your landlord must arrange annual checks of the gas appliances and flues they provide and give you the record before you move in, then within 28 days of each check. Read about landlord gas safety duties in England.
The Landlord Gas Safety Record, commonly called a CP12, documents the findings at the check. It does not establish continuing safety. This guide explains how to request it and raise unresolved concerns under English law; it provides general information, not individual legal advice.
Have your postcode, the gas appliances you provide and your current certificate's expiry date ready.
- Gas Safe registered: 648977
- Every landlord gas appliance checked
- Same-day appointments available
Smell Gas or Hear a Carbon Monoxide Alarm? Act Immediately
If you smell gas, leave and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 from a safe place outside.
- Gas smell: avoid flames and electrical switches. Open windows and turn off the gas only if safe, without delaying your escape. Do not stay inside to investigate.
- Carbon monoxide alarm or suspected exposure: leave immediately for fresh air and call 0800 111 999 from outside. For suspected carbon monoxide symptoms, contact NHS 111; call 999 for serious symptoms, including breathing difficulty, sudden confusion or loss of consciousness.
Do not re-enter until advised it is safe. Emergency action comes before requesting paperwork or contacting your landlord.
What Your Landlord Must Arrange and Give You
Your landlord must arrange the annual safety check, maintain the gas equipment they provide and supply your record on time.
Regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 covers landlord-provided gas appliances and relevant flues. The check must include every applicable appliance, such as boilers, cookers, hobs, range cookers, gas fires and water heaters. A working boiler alone does not prove these duties have been met.
The copy deadlines are:
- New tenants: receive the latest record before moving in.
- Existing tenants: receive the record within 28 days of the check.
Electronic delivery is acceptable if you agree and can access the document. You can request a paper copy.
Maintenance continues between annual checks. Appliances you own are your responsibility; tell the landlord which appliances belong to you so ownership and check arrangements are clear. Report faults when they occur rather than waiting for the next annual appointment.
No Gas Safety Record: Choose Your Next Step
Not having the record does not establish whether a check happened, so request the latest record and check date while acting immediately on any danger.
Put Your Request in Writing
Ask your landlord or managing agent for the latest record and confirmation of the most recent check date. Adapt this message:
“Date: [date]. Property: [address]. Please send me the latest Landlord Gas Safety Record and confirm the date of the check. If a check is outstanding, please suggest appointment times so we can agree access. I am available on [dates and times]. Please confirm the arrangements in writing.”
Keep the message and reply. This is suggested correspondence, not a statutory notice or a new legal deadline.
Report the Problem to the Right Organisation
HSE takes complaints about missing landlord gas safety records, while your council can assess unsafe housing conditions.
Missing record: search for HSE’s official “LGSR1: Details of property with no record of a gas safety check” reporting form.
Housing conditions: private tenants should contact the environmental health or private sector housing team covering the property’s address. In London, this means the relevant borough council or the City of London.
For either route, prepare:
- The property address and landlord or agent details.
- Known check dates and copies of correspondence.
- A factual description of the concern.
Council and housing association tenants should also use their housing provider’s complaints procedure. Unresolved complaints may be escalated to the Housing Ombudsman after the relevant complaint steps. HSE’s gas safety reporting route remains separate. Reporting does not promise an inspection, prosecution or particular response time.
Use the situation that matches what you know. HSE and council routes can address different aspects of the same problem. A new check cannot recreate evidence of an earlier visit.
- You lost a previously supplied copy: ask the landlord or managing agent for another copy. Keep your request and their reply. See our guide to getting a copy of a lost gas safety record.
- No record was supplied: request the latest record and check date in writing from the landlord or agent. Keep the correspondence and note when your tenancy began.
- The landlord confirms the check is overdue: ask them to arrange it promptly and offer suitable access dates. Keep their confirmation, your availability and appointment details.
- The landlord continues refusing to supply the record: use HSE’s LGSR1 reporting route. Retain your written requests, responses and any known check dates.
- There are unsafe conditions or unresolved heating problems: report them to the landlord and contact the council’s housing or environmental health team. Keep fault reports and engineer notices. Follow the emergency instructions above whenever necessary.
Boiler Servicing and the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985
Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 concerns keeping heating and hot-water installations in repair and working order; the annual gas safety check comes from separate regulations.
Repair
where section 11 applies, the landlord must keep the relevant installations in repair and proper working order.
Maintenance
regulation 36 requires ongoing gas maintenance. HSE advises following the manufacturer’s servicing instructions. If unavailable, annual servicing is recommended unless a Gas Safe registered engineer advises otherwise.
Annual safety check
landlord-provided gas appliances and flues require the separate safety check and record.
These duties serve different purposes:
A boiler service does not automatically fulfil the annual safety-check duty. Equally, a current CP12 does not resolve a heating or hot-water defect.
Report faults promptly and ask about maintenance arrangements. The duty to supply your CP12 does not create an equivalent general entitlement to a boiler service record. Where a gas defect needs remedial work, the landlord must arrange it with a Gas Safe registered engineer.
Can I Sue My Landlord for No Gas Safety Check?
A missing gas safety check does not automatically entitle you to compensation; whether you have a civil claim depends on the legal basis and facts of your case.
Keep a Clear Record of What Happened
Keep a dated account of requests, appointments and reported problems. Distinguish “I have not received a copy” from “the landlord confirmed no check took place”.
Retain:
- Your tenancy agreement.
- Gas safety records already received.
- Messages to and from the landlord or agent.
- Access dates offered and appointment confirmations.
- Engineer reports, labels and warning notices.
- Relevant receipts or medical documents you already hold.
For each event, note the date, what happened and the supporting document. Photograph visible notices or conditions only when safe. Do not enter an unsafe home, open appliances or carry out tests to gather evidence.
Reporting a breach to HSE or the council allows the relevant authority to consider it. Pursuing a personal claim is a separate matter. Qualifying tenants may have remedies concerning disrepair or a home that is unfit for habitation, but the applicable duties and evidence determine what a court can decide.
Ask a housing adviser or solicitor to assess your tenancy, the problem and any proposed claim. Continue paying rent during the dispute. A missing record alone does not establish a compensation award or an automatic right to recover rent.
Landlord gas safety certificates
Arrange the Outstanding Check with Your Landlord or Agent
If a check is outstanding, ask your landlord or agent to arrange it and agree access with you.
Landlords and authorised agents can contact All Service 4 U about a London check with our Gas Safe registered engineers, business registration 648977. Tenants can share these details; arranging the check remains the landlord’s responsibility.
Have the address, landlord-provided appliance list and access arrangements ready. Call 020 3740 6785; our phone line is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
020 3740 6785
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Tenant Refuse a Gas Safety Check?
Tenants should cooperate with gas safety access and suggest another suitable time if an appointment is inconvenient. The landlord should give reasonable notice and agree access; notice for a routine check does not authorise forced entry. Landlords should record the reasonable steps they take to secure access. Three unsuccessful attempts do not automatically exempt them from the duty. Reply promptly with alternative dates and keep the agreement.
How Much Can a Landlord Be Fined for No Gas Safety Certificate?
There is no single fixed fine for every missing-record case; penalties depend on the offence and the court. Breaches can lead to prosecution and serious penalties, including unlimited fines or imprisonment where applicable. An enforcement penalty does not establish your entitlement to civil compensation, and making a report does not mean prosecution will automatically follow.
My Boiler Has Been Labelled Unsafe: What Does That Mean?
Follow the engineer’s warning notice and do not use an appliance declared unsafe.
- Immediately Dangerous: an immediate danger to life or property.
- At Risk: recognised faults could create danger.
The engineer seeks permission to disconnect or turn off the appliance as appropriate. Ask your landlord to arrange remedial work with a Gas Safe registered engineer and discuss temporary heating if needed. A record should still be issued after completed checks, including any defects found.
Can the Gas Safety Check and Boiler Service Happen in One Visit?
Yes, your landlord can arrange both in one visit, but they remain separate tasks. Confirm the booked scope with the landlord or agent before agreeing access. A boiler service alone does not establish that every landlord-provided gas appliance and flue has received its annual safety check. One agreed appointment can accommodate both jobs.
What Happens If the Landlord Lets the Gas Safety Check Become Overdue?
An overdue check needs prompt attention; the annual deadline has no routine grace period. Ask your landlord to arrange the check, offer access and keep the correspondence. Regulation 36A allows qualifying checks within the two months before the deadline to preserve that deadline; it does not permit late checks. A later check cannot prove earlier compliance. Overdue paperwork alone does not establish that an appliance is dangerous.
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.