Gas safety in rented homes
Call the National Gas Emergency Service immediately on 0800 111 999 if you smell gas or think there's a gas leak.
Find out more from the NHS about signs of carbon monoxide poisoning.
For information on gas safety, call the free Gas Safety Advice Line on 0800 300 363.
Your landlord's responsibilities
Your landlord must make sure that the gas supply and appliances they have provided are:
in a safe condition
fitted or repaired by a Gas Safe registered engineer
checked every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer
This includes pipework, cookers, boilers, fires and water heaters.
These rules apply to private, council and housing association landlords.
Your responsibilities
You are responsible for any gas appliances that you own. Your landlord is usually responsible for any flues, pipework or chimneys they are connected to.
When a Gas Safe engineer checks the appliances owned by your landlord, you can ask them to check your appliances, but you may have to pay for this.
Yearly gas safety checks
Your landlord must arrange a gas safety check every 12 months.
They could book the engineer's visit up to 2 months before the check is due. If your landlord does this, it does not change the date that the next check is due.
You should get reasonable notice of when a check is due.
You can ask that it's at a convenient time.
You do not have to pay for a gas safety check.
Who can do a gas safety check
The check must be done by a registered Gas Safe engineer.
Ask to see their Gas Safe ID card when they visit.
The engineer must make safe serious problems with any of the gas installations in your home.
They can:
disconnect faulty equipment
arrange for your gas supply to be cut off
Ask for a gas safety check if it's overdue
Copy our sample text into an email to your landlord or letting agent.
[Use the subject: Gas safety check]
I’m writing to ask for the annual gas safety check at [your address].
The check is overdue. The gas appliances and flues have not been inspected by a Gas Safe engineer for over 12 months.
Yearly gas safety checks are a legal requirement under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998.
Landlords must give a copy of the latest gas safety record to tenants within 28 days of the check and to new tenants before they move in.
Please let me know when the check will take place so I can arrange access for the engineer.
I look forward to hearing from you within the next 10 days.
You can also send the letter as an email attachment or by post:
Word template: Overdue gas safety check (docx 14kb)
Gas safety certificates
A Gas Safe registered engineer gives your landlord a gas safety record after inspecting your home. This is often called a gas safety certificate.
If the record shows there are problems that affect gas safety, the landlord must get the problems repaired.
Your landlord must give you a copy of the latest gas safety record both:
before you move in
within 28 days of each yearly gas safety check
Ask for a gas safety record
Copy our sample text into an email to your landlord.
[Use the subject: Gas safety record]
I’m writing to request a copy of the gas safety record for [your address]
I am a tenant at the above address and I have not yet received a copy of the latest gas safety record.
Please let me have this information within the next 10 days.
This is a legal requirement under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. The regulations state that landlords must make sure that gas appliances and flues in rented homes are maintained in good order and checked for safety at least once every 12 months.
Landlords must keep a record of the safety checks and issue these to their tenants.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours sincerely
You can also send the letter as an email attachment or by post:
Word template: Ask for a gas safety record (docx 21kb)
OpenDocument template: Ask for a gas safety record (odt 7kb)
Section 21 notices
Your landlord cannot usually give you a valid section 21 eviction notice unless they have given you a copy of the latest gas safety record first.
This applies to assured shorthold tenancies that started or were renewed on or after 1 October 2015.
Carbon monoxide and smoke alarms
Councils, housing associations and private landlords must:
provide smoke alarms on each floor of your home
install carbon monoxide alarms in rooms with appliances that burn fuel, for example, a gas boiler or a wood burning stove
Carbon monoxide alarms are not needed in rooms with only a gas cooker.
Your landlord must check that the alarms are working on the first day of your tenancy.
You should test the alarms monthly. If they do not work you should replace the batteries.
Tell your landlord if you cannot replace the batteries or if the alarms still do not work. Your landlord must repair or replace faulty alarms.
Complain to your council if a private landlord will not fit or fix alarms.
These rules apply to:
private landlords from 1 October 2015
housing associations and councils from 1 October 2022
The rules do not apply to lodgers or some student halls of residence.
How to complain about gas safety
You can complain to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) if your landlord will not carry out gas safety checks.
The HSE can prosecute landlords who do not meet their gas safety responsibilities. They are unlikely to be able to deal with every complaint they receive.
If you rent from a private landlord you could complain to the council's environmental health team.
Last updated: 4 November 2024
