As a first-time landlord in England you need one gas document before the tenancy starts: a Landlord Gas Safety Record, usually called a CP12. It must cover every gas appliance and flue you supply, be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and be dated within the 12 months before the tenant moves in. The tenant receives a copy before moving in, not afterwards. This page covers England and the duties under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 as amended, together with the alarm, EPC and heating paperwork that sits alongside them.
Which gas certificate does a first-time landlord need before a tenant moves in?
A first-time landlord needs a Landlord Gas Safety Record, usually called a CP12, before the tenant takes occupation. In England, regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 as amended requires a safety check on each gas appliance and flue you provide. The check must fall within the 12 months before the tenancy starts. Only a Gas Safe registered engineer, meaning an engineer on the register approved by HSE, may carry it out and sign the record.
The new tenant must be given a copy of the record before moving in. Where the letting runs for 28 days or less, you may instead display a legible copy in a prominent position inside the property. Tenants then need to be told where it is displayed and how to obtain their own copy. Tenants already in place receive their copy within 28 days of each later check.
Old records are not waste paper. You keep each one until two further checks have been carried out, which in practice means about two years.
Three points decide whether your gas paperwork is in order on day one in England: the check falls inside the last 12 months, a Gas Safe registered engineer carried it out, and the tenant holds a copy before moving in.
Do lodgers, holiday lets and short stays also need a landlord gas safety record?
Lodgers, holiday lets and short stays are covered, because in England the duty under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 as amended follows the letting rather than the type of tenant. You count as a landlord when you rent out a property under a lease of less than seven years, or under a licence. HSE lists rented holiday accommodation such as cottages, chalets, caravans and houseboats. Lettings of 28 days or less are included as well.
You cannot hand the duty over to your tenant. The one carve-out is for appliances and flues in parts of a building that are not used for living in, such as a shop or a pub below the flat. Renting out a single room still makes you a landlord for gas safety, as set out in our guide to a gas safety certificate for a lodger.
Gas safety check or boiler service: which does a first-time landlord book before letting?
A gas safety check and a boiler service are two separate jobs, and a first-time landlord usually wants both done before the tenancy starts. HSE warns that neither one can be assumed to cover the other.
| What it is | Annual gas safety check | Boiler service |
|---|---|---|
| Why you book it | Duty in England under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 as amended, for every appliance and flue you supply | Maintenance to the manufacturer's instructions; where none exist, HSE advises yearly servicing |
| What you are left with | A gas safety record listing each appliance checked, the engineer and the date | A service record, which manufacturers ask for when a claim is made under the boiler guarantee |
| Does it replace the other | It is not a substitute for effective maintenance of the appliance | It does not automatically cover every point of the safety check |
| Who may carry it out | A Gas Safe registered engineer, named with a registration number on the record | A Gas Safe registered engineer for a gas boiler, working to the manufacturer's instructions |
Installation pipework sits outside the annual safety check, yet it still has to be kept in a safe condition through inspection and repair. Manufacturers such as Worcester Bosch, Baxi, Vaillant and Ideal normally make an annual service a condition of the boiler guarantee. The difference between the two jobs is set out in our guide on a gas safety check or a boiler service.
What has to appear on the gas safety record you are handed?
The gas safety record must carry a fixed set of details, and a first-time landlord should read them before filing the document. HSE sets out what has to be on it.
- a description and the location of each appliance and flue checked
- the name, Gas Safe registration number and signature of the engineer
- the date on which the check was carried out
- the address of the property checked
- your name and address as the landlord
- any safety defect found, and the action taken to put it right
Defects noted on the record have to be dealt with. An appliance judged unsafe must not be used until a Gas Safe registered engineer has corrected the fault.
Which alarm and EPC paperwork does a new tenancy in England need alongside the gas record?
A new tenancy in England needs working alarms and a valid Energy Performance Certificate from day one, next to the gas safety record. The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, as amended in 2022, require a smoke alarm on every storey with living accommodation. A carbon monoxide alarm is required in any room used as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance, other than a gas cooker. The alarms must be in working order on the first day of the tenancy, and you need to be able to show it.
The EPC, which rates the energy performance of the property, goes to prospective tenants at the earliest opportunity and to the tenant who signs. The energy rating belongs in the advert too. In England a property below EPC band E may not be let unless an exemption is registered on the PRS Exemptions Register.
Does the Renters' Rights Act 2025 change the gas paperwork for a first tenancy?
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 leaves the gas safety duty itself unchanged, but it changes what the record is often used for. From 1 May 2026 a private landlord in England can no longer use a section 21 notice under the Housing Act 1988, and possession requires a valid ground. The familiar shorthand that a missing gas record blocks a section 21 notice is therefore losing its weight.
Treat the gas safety record as a safety duty enforced by HSE instead. HSE prosecutes breaches: in October 2026 a landlord was sentenced after a gas boiler had been left unchecked for eight years. Tenancies starting on or after 1 May 2026 in England also carry new written information duties, with the detail in secondary legislation.
After the first check: anniversary date, access and keeping the heating working
Once the first gas safety check is done, the date on the record sets the rhythm for a landlord. In England you can arrange the next check up to two months before the due date without losing the original anniversary date. That window came in with the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) (Amendment) Regulations 2018. Our guide on renewal and the 12-month rule works through the dates.
Access is the usual sticking point, so put it in writing in the tenancy agreement before the tenancy begins. Force is never an option. If a tenant refuses, HSE expects evidence of all reasonable steps. Inspectors look for at least three attempts, written notice of the legal duty, and a record of what you did.
Paperwork is one thing, a working system another. In England, section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 covers leases of less than seven years granted since 24 October 1961. It requires you to keep the installations for gas, water, space heating and hot water in repair and proper working order. At handover, show the tenant the four things they may safely check:
- the boiler pressure gauge and the normal cold reading
- the room thermostat and the time programmer
- the reset button on the boiler control panel
- how to bleed a radiator that is cold at the top
Anything involving gas, the flue, seals, condensate inside the appliance or opening the boiler casing is work for a Gas Safe registered engineer. If the property is in London or the surrounding counties, you can book the landlord gas safety certificate (CP12) before the tenancy starts.
Sources
- Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 36
- HSE – Gas safety check records and what to keep
- HSE – Gas safety checks: who needs them?
- HSE – Maintenance: gas appliances and flues
- HSE – Dealing with tenants
- GOV.UK – Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations: guidance for landlords and tenants
- GOV.UK – Domestic private rented property: minimum energy efficiency standard
- GOV.UK – Renters' Rights Act: an overview for landlords
- Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 11
- HSE – Landlord sentenced for leaving gas boiler unchecked for eight years