What a landlord gas safety certificate (CP12) covers

If you let out a home with gas appliances in England, Scotland or Wales, the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 give you three main duties as the landlord: keep the gas pipework, appliances and flues you provide in a safe condition, have them safety-checked every year, and keep a record of each check.

The annual check must be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer, within 12 months of the previous one. The engineer records the results on a Landlord Gas Safety Record, which most people still call a CP12, after the name of an older version of the form.

The duty covers most residential lets, including rooms let to lodgers, houses in multiple occupation and holiday lets. This guide is general information, not legal advice. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) publishes the full guidance for landlords, and it's worth reading if your situation is unusual.

• Have every gas appliance and flue you provide checked within 12 months of its last check.
• Give existing tenants a copy of the record within 28 days of the check.
• Give new tenants a copy before they move in. For some short lets, such as holiday lets, displaying a copy prominently in the property is allowed instead.
• Keep each record for at least two years.

Every gas appliance and flue you provide for your tenants is included, such as the boiler, the gas hob or cooker, a gas fire or a gas water heater. For each one, the engineer checks:

• That the flue or chimney is working properly and taking fumes safely outside
• That there's enough air supply for the appliance to burn gas safely
• The gas pressure or heat input, so the appliance is burning correctly
• That it's operating safely, including safety devices such as the flame supervision device that shuts off the gas if the flame goes out

Engineers usually also test the installation pipework for gas tightness and look over any pipework they can see.

The record should show the date of the check, the address of the property, the name and address of the landlord or their agent, a description and the location of each appliance or flue checked, any defects found and any action taken, and the engineer's name, signature and Gas Safe registration number.

• A boiler service. The safety check confirms each appliance is safe to use, while a service cleans and maintains the boiler's working parts. They're separate jobs, but they can be booked together in one visit.
• Repairs. Any work needed to put a defect right is priced separately.
• Appliances that belong to the tenant, such as a gas cooker they brought with them. They aren't part of the landlord's check, though you're still responsible for keeping the pipework you provide safe.
• Electrical safety. Private landlords in England need a separate electrical inspection, known as an EICR, at least every five years.
• Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Landlords in England have separate legal duties for these, and testing them isn't part of the gas safety check. We can fit carbon monoxide alarms at the same visit.

• Book early, up to two months before the current record runs out.
• Agree a time with your tenants and confirm how the engineer will get in. If a tenant won't allow access, keep a written note of the steps you've taken to arrange the check.
• Make sure the engineer can reach every gas appliance, the gas meter and the flues, including any flue that runs through a cupboard or the loft.
• Check the gas and electricity are on, and that any prepayment meter has credit, so each appliance can be run and tested.
• Have the previous record to hand, and tell us how many gas appliances there are when you book.

Letting several properties? Our landlord gas safety page has the fixed rates for checks, extra appliances and the combined boiler service.