If you are a landlord, you are legally obliged to have a landlord gas safety certificate. This means that a Gas Safe-registered heating engineer must check all gas burning appliances, fittings and flues in your property or properties to ensure that they are working properly and are safe to use, including those in communal areas. These checks must be carried out each year.
As well as giving you peace of mind that your tenants are not at risk, doing so will ensure that you are complying with the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, which sets out the responsibilities of landlords in relation to gas safety.
Even if you are using an agency to manage your property, you are still responsible as the landlord to ensure that gas safety requirements are met. If your agent has agreed to take responsibility, make sure this is written into your contract. It is also worth checking each year that the gas safety inspections are being carried out and recorded properly.
Landlord gas safety certificates
You will need to be able to prove that all the gas appliances in your rental properties have been checked, and that’s where the Landlord Gas Safety Certificate comes in. Your registered engineer will give you a Gas Safety certificate detailing the checks they have carried out and whether any repairs are needed. You must keep a record of this for two years and issue a copy to each existing tenant within 28 days of the check being completed as well as to any new tenants before they move in.
Your landlord gas safety certificates should include:
• The engineer’s name, Gas Safe registration number and signature
• The date the checks were carried out
• The address of the property as well as your name and address
• A description of each gas appliance and its location
• Results of the safety checks for each appliance
• A description of any problems identified and the action required to put them right
The repercussions of not having a landlord gas safety check carried out can be severe, as you will be breaking the law and putting people’s lives at risk. If something goes wrong and you cannot prove that the right checks were carried out by a registered Gas Safe engineer, you could end up paying a substantial fine or even serving a custodial sentence.
Get your landlord gas safety certificates from DHS
At DHS, our engineers are qualified to carry out your annual gas safety checks and to provide your landlord gas safety certificates. The best option is to set up a service contract with DHS. That way, your boiler and other gas appliances will be regularly checked and maintained, so you are less likely to experience any major problems. If you sign up for a service contract, we will automatically remind you when your gas safety checks are due so you don’t have to give it another thought. If you are looking after several properties, this will be a real weight off your mind.
If you are a landlord with properties in the local area and are looking to sign up to our boiler servicing in Bristol, contact us using the details below.
Unit 2 Septimus Buildings 
