Gas safety in rented homes
Landlords are responsible for ensuring gas appliances and flues are safe, arranging annual safety checks, and giving tenants the gas safety certificate.
Landlord gas safety responsibilities
Landlords must make sure the gas appliances and flues they provide are:[1]
in a safe condition
maintained by a Gas Safe registered engineer
checked every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer
The landlord must keep records of the checks and give a copy of the gas safety certificate to an existing or new tenant.
The rules apply to periodic tenancies, fixed term tenancies of less than seven years, and licences.[2] They apply to normal gas supplies and liquified petroleum gas (LPG). LPG is commonly used in mobile homes and rural areas where mains gas is not supplied.
Occupiers are responsible for any gas appliances they own. The landlord is usually responsible for the flues, pipework or chimneys the appliances are connected to.
Carbon monoxide alarms
Poorly installed or defective gas fittings an appliances can produce carbon monoxide gas. Carbon monoxide gas is colourless, odourless and highly poisonous.
Landlords must ensure there is a carbon monoxide alarm in any room used as living accommodation where there is a gas appliance. The local authority must serve a remedial notice where it has reason to believe a landlord has not complied.
Find out more about carbon monoxide alarms.
Annual gas safety checks
The landlord must ensure a gas safety check is carried out annually on all gas appliances and flues they provide.[3]
Appliances include gas fires, boilers, cookers, water heaters and lighting appliances.
The landlord is responsible for arranging and paying for safety checks and repairs. They cannot ask tenants to arrange or pay for a check or ask them to do this in the tenancy agreement.[4]
When gas safety checks should happen
Each appliance and flue must be checked within 12 months of installation and every 12 months after that.
The check can be done up to two months before it is due and retain the existing expiry date.[5]
The due date of the check for some appliances or flues might be different from others in the same property. The landlord has an extra two months to check an appliance or flue so they can align the check dates with the others. This is allowed once for each appliance or flue.[6]
Who can do the gas safety check
The check must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer.[7] Registered gas engineers are issued with a Gas Safe ID card.
Find out more about the Gas Safe Register.
If the engineer finds an unsafe appliance
The Gas Safe engineer must inform the landlord and occupier where an appliance is found to be unsafe. The engineer can disconnect faulty equipment or arrange for the gas supply to be cut off.[8] The landlord should arrange to have the problem fixed by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
The engineers might disconnect a heating appliance, such as a boiler, if it is unsafe. The landlord should provide the occupier with emergency heating options, such as electric heaters. Find out more about heating, hot water and power problems.
Gas safety certificates
The Gas Safe registered engineer should give the landlord a gas safety record, also called a gas safety certificate, once the check has been carried out.
They must issue a copy of the most recent certificate to:[9]
existing tenants within 28 days of the check
new tenants before they move in
The landlord must keep a record of the checks until there have been two further checks of the appliance or flue.
Where the gas fittings are not in rooms occupied by tenants the landlord can prominently display a copy of the record within the premises.[10] For example, a student hall of residence served by a single boiler.
Section 21 notices
A landlord cannot serve a valid section 21 notice to end an assured shorthold tenancy if they have not provided the tenant with a copy of the gas safety certificate.
This applies to tenancies granted on or after 1 October 2015.
Find out more about what makes a section 21 invalid.
Taking action on gas safety
Occupiers should report all faults immediately to their landlord or the agent. Occupiers and landlords should not use an appliance if it is known or suspected to be unsafe.[11] Occupiers should not tamper with any gas appliance.
Emergency action for gas leaks
Occupiers should call the National Gas Emergency Service immediately if they smell gas or think there is a gas leak. They should not wait for the landlord to take action in an emergency.
Find the contact details for the National Gas Emergency Service.
Health and Safety Executive
The occupier can report a landlord who fails to carry out gas safety checks or comply with their other gas safety responsibilities to the Health and Safety Executive.
Health and Safety Executive inspectors can act to remedy issues, including entering premises and seizing property where there are grounds to believe it could cause serious injury.[12]
The Health and Safety Executive can serve an improvement notice requiring remedial work.[13] It can serve a prohibition notice if use of the appliance risks serious injury. A prohibition notice requires the appliance is not used until remedial work is done.[14]
The Health and Safety Executive can prosecute landlords and agents.[15]
Find out more about the Health and Safety Executive.
Houses in Multiple Occupation
Local authorities have powers to ensure the safe supply of gas in houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).[16] A landlord with an HMO licence must give the authority an annual gas safety certificate for the property.[17]
Find out more about HMO licences.
Local authority environmental health
A local authority must keep the housing conditions in its area under review. It has a duty to inspect hazards in homes, including carbon monoxide and fuel combustion products.
Local authorities have powers to deal with problems, including emergency action.
Find out more about local authority duties to assess hazards in the home.
Landlord repair responsibilities
A landlord is responsible for most repair and safety issues in a rented property.
Fitness for human habitation
Landlords must make sure a rented property is fit for human habitation. A property might be unfit if there are risks to health and safety. A failure to ensure gas installations and facilities are safe could make a property unfit for habitation.
Find out more about fitness for habitation in rented homes.
Section 11 repair responsibilities
Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires the landlord to keep the installations for the supply of gas in repair and proper working order, and the installations for space heating and heating water, which might depend on a gas supply.
Find out more about section 11 repair responsibilities.
Defective premises
A landlord can be liable for personal injury or property damage caused by relevant defects in a property.
The affected person can make a claim against the landlord. They might have a claim if the landlord knew about the defect and did not remedy it, or did not do enough to find out about potential defects. This could include a failure to carry out a gas safety check.[18]
Find out more about defective premises.
Last updated: 17 December 2024