Check the property address, your name and address as landlord, the date of the check, the engineer's name and registration number, and every appliance listed, before the paperwork goes in the file. If something is wrong, ask the engineer or the company that issued the document to re-issue a corrected version; you must not alter it yourself. HSE calls the document a gas safety record, and "gas safety certificate" or "CP12" is the everyday name for the same thing. After a new installation you also end up with a building regulations compliance certificate and a Benchmark checklist, and each of those carries your address too.
Which fields on a gas safety record must you check on the day?
HSE sets out what a landlord gas safety record has to contain, and each field is worth reading before you file it. Run through the list while the paperwork is still in front of you.
- a description and the location of every appliance and flue that was checked
- the name, registration number and signature of the engineer who carried out the check
- the date of the check
- the address of the property where the appliance or flue is installed
- your name and address as landlord, or those of your agent
- any safety defect found, and the action taken to put it right
- confirmation that the check covered points (a) to (d) of regulation 26(9) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998
A record issued after 1 April 2009 is only valid if the engineer was registered with the Gas Safe Register. The engineer's qualifications are printed on the back of the registration card, and HSE explains how to check the register entry.
The engineer who carried out the check is the only person who can issue a corrected gas safety record. Crossing out a wrong postcode yourself breaks the link between the record and the registered person who signed it.
Boiler certificate with the wrong address: who corrects it?
A wrong address on a gas safety record is put right by the engineer or the company that issued it. Ask for a re-issued record rather than a handwritten amendment. The corrected version still has to carry every mandatory field, including the engineer's name, registration number and signature.
Paper errors are the common ones: a missing flat number, a transposed postcode, the wrong landlord or agent address, the wrong date, or an appliance recorded in the wrong room. Raise them the same day if you can, while the visit is fresh.
A mismatch that concerns the appliance itself is a different matter. The model recorded, the flue, a seal or anything behind the casing is work for a Gas Safe registered engineer to inspect, not something to settle on paper. HSE is also clear that a registered engineer must not knowingly sign off work carried out by an unregistered person, and that both can be prosecuted.
Gas safety record or building regulations compliance certificate: which document is which?
Two different documents carry your property address, and they come out of two different processes. The gas safety record covers the annual check in a let property; the building regulations compliance certificate covers a new installation.
| What to compare | Gas safety record (CP12) | Building regulations compliance certificate |
|---|---|---|
| What it records | The annual safety check of gas appliances, pipework and flues in a let property | That a new boiler installation meets the Building Regulations |
| Who issues it | The Gas Safe registered engineer who carried out the check | The installer's competent person scheme, after the work is notified to the local authority |
| When it reaches you | At the time of the check, on paper or as an electronic record | GOV.UK says the certificate follows within 8 weeks of the work being completed |
| Why a wrong address matters | Tenant copies and HSE enquiries rely on the property address under regulation 36 | Solicitors look for the certificate in their searches when the property is sold |
| How long it stays relevant | Keep it 2 years from the date of the check, as regulation 36 requires in England | Kept with the property paperwork; copies come from the local authority building control team |
On the compliance certificate, the address, the completion date and the description of the appliance need to match what was actually installed. An error there surfaces years later, during a sale. Our guides on the building regulations compliance certificate and on the three documents after a replacement boiler set out what each one covers.
What must match on the Benchmark checklist before you sign it?
Your signature on the Benchmark checklist confirms that the appliance was demonstrated to you and that you received the manufacturer's documents. Read the entries first. Check the installation address, the commissioning date, the boiler model and the serial number against the appliance that was fitted.
Benchmark is a national scheme that commits manufacturers and installers to best practice on installation, commissioning and servicing, in line with the Building Regulations in England and Wales. Baxi and Ideal both state that the installer must complete all relevant fields, and that a fully completed commissioning checklist is a condition of registering the boiler guarantee.
Worcester Bosch advises writing the notification number onto the Benchmark checklist once the building regulations compliance certificate arrives. The service record section is filled in by the engineer after each annual service, and the document stays with the property. The same principle applies to an unvented hot water cylinder, where the checklist is handed over for you to keep.
Which details does the manufacturer need to register the boiler guarantee?
Guarantee registration usually needs the serial number, the installation date and the installation address. Ideal notes that the serial number is found under or on top of the appliance, so it can be read without opening the casing. If any of the three is wrong on your paperwork, the registration can be wrong too.
Vaillant's domestic boiler guarantee terms require registration within 30 days of installation for the full guarantee period; miss that and the period is shortened. Ask the installer whether they have already registered the appliance, because Ideal confirms a second registration is not needed.
Worcester Bosch points out that a manufacturer may ask you to prove the installation date, correct commissioning and the annual service. That is the practical reason to check the paperwork on the day. Baxi links continued cover to an annual service by a Gas Safe registered engineer, recorded in the Benchmark service interval record.
Who must get a copy of the gas safety record, and how long do you keep it?
Regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, as amended, requires a landlord in England to give each existing tenant a copy of the record within 28 days of the check, and to give new tenants a copy before they occupy. Where the right to occupy is 28 days or less, the record may instead be displayed prominently in the property. Records are kept for 2 years from the date of the check.
Electronic records are acceptable to HSE if they can be reproduced on paper, are secured against loss and alteration, and identify the engineer clearly. A tenant has to agree to receive the record electronically and must be able to access it. On request, a paper copy has to be given. The deadlines and the detail are set out in our guide on giving your tenant a copy of the gas safety record.
If a check is due on a property you let in London or the surrounding counties, you can arrange a landlord gas safety certificate (CP12) with us.
Sources
- Gas safety check records and what to keep - HSE
- Domestic gas: frequently asked questions - HSE
- Check an engineer - are they Gas Safe registered? - HSE
- Gas safety check - who can do it? - HSE
- The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 36
- Building regulations approval: Use a competent person scheme - GOV.UK
- Will I receive anything in writing when I have a new boiler installed? - Worcester Bosch
- Benchmark for Installers - Baxi
- Warranties & Certification FAQs - Ideal Heating
- Domestic boiler guarantee terms & conditions - Vaillant
- LGSR1 Details of property with no record of a gas safety check - HSE