Every 12 months, a Gas Safe registered engineer has to check the gas appliances, pipework and flues in a rented home. It’s a short visit, and a little preparation makes it quicker and avoids a wasted trip. Here’s what actually happens and what to get ready.
📋 In short: the engineer checks every gas appliance the landlord provides, tests for leaks, checks flues and ventilation, and gives a written gas safety record. For a typical flat with a boiler and a hob, allow around 30–60 minutes. Make sure the gas and electricity are on, and the boiler, meter and appliances are easy to reach.
🔧 What Happens During the Check
- ID check. The engineer should show their Gas Safe ID card. Check the photo, and that the back lists the types of work they’re qualified for (for example domestic boilers, cookers, fires).
- Gas tightness test. At the meter, they test the whole installation for leaks.
- Each appliance. For the boiler, hob, gas fire or water heater they check it’s working correctly — gas pressure or heat input, burner and flame, and that safety devices shut it off when they should.
- Flues and chimneys. They check fumes are being carried safely outside, including a spillage test on appliances with an open flue.
- Ventilation. They make sure each appliance has the air supply it needs.
- The record. You get a gas safety record listing each appliance, the results, and any defect found with the action taken.
A safety check is not a boiler service. If you want the boiler cleaned and maintained too, book both in the same visit — it saves a second appointment.
🏠 How Landlords Should Prepare
- Book early. The check can be done up to two months before the deadline (10–12 months after the last one) without losing any time — the new record keeps the original expiry date.
- Give the tenant written notice of the appointment and why it’s needed, and offer them the chance to choose a time that suits them.
- Tell the engineer what’s there — how many gas appliances, and where the boiler and meter are.
- Check concealed flues. If the boiler’s flue runs through a ceiling, cupboard or boxing, there must be inspection hatches so it can be seen. Without them the engineer may not be able to pass the boiler.
- Have the last record to hand, plus boiler manuals if you have them.
- Prepayment meter? Make sure there’s credit — the engineer needs gas to test the appliances.
🔑 How Tenants Can Help
- Clear space around the boiler, the gas meter, the hob and any gas fire.
- Keep the gas and electricity on, and pets out of the way.
- Allow about an hour, and let the engineer know about anything you’ve noticed — a yellow or floppy flame, soot marks, a smell of gas, or a boiler that keeps cutting out.
- Access is still needed even if you don’t use the gas, as long as there’s a live gas supply.
⚠️ Smell gas? Don’t wait for the check. Open windows, don’t use switches or flames, turn off the gas at the meter if you can, and call the National Gas Emergency number 0800 111 999.
🚪 If a Tenant Won’t Give Access
The law expects landlords to take all reasonable steps to get the check done — but it gives no power to force entry. If access is refused or appointments keep being missed:
- Write to the tenant explaining the check is a legal safety requirement, and offer more appointment options.
- Leave a card or notice after any missed visit.
- Keep a record of every attempt — letters, emails, texts, dates of missed visits.
Those records are what show you did everything reasonable if the check runs late. Never enter without permission.
📄 After the Check
- All passed: you get the record straight away. Give the tenant a copy within 28 days (new tenants before they move in) and keep it until two further checks have been done.
- Something failed: the record still gets issued, listing the problem. A dangerous appliance will be turned off or disconnected (with permission) and labelled, and mustn’t be used until it’s repaired and rechecked.
- Tenant’s own appliances (for example a cooker they brought with them) aren’t covered by the landlord’s check, though the pipework to them is.
🏆 Gas Safety Checks with FE Maintenance
- CP12 from £65 — new customers 10% off (from £58.50)
- With a boiler service from £120, or with your EICR from £155 on the same day
- Certificates emailed the same day; repairs handled by us if anything fails
- Free online client portal — every certificate stored in one place, with expiry alerts. See how it works
We cover North, West and Central London. Book a gas safety check or read what it costs.
General information based on HSE’s guidance for landlords and tenants under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, as of October 2026. Not legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Around 30 to 60 minutes for a typical flat with a boiler and a hob. Homes with more gas appliances, or boilers that are hard to reach, take longer.
Someone needs to give the engineer access. Tenants should be offered the chance to arrange a time that suits them, and many landlords or agents arrange access with a key if the tenant agrees.
You must take all reasonable steps: write explaining it is a legal requirement, offer other appointments, and keep a record of every attempt. You have no power to force entry.
No. The safety check confirms appliances, pipework and flues are safe. A service cleans and maintains the boiler. They can be done in the same visit.
No. Appliances the tenant owns are not covered by the landlord's safety check, but the landlord is still responsible for the pipework that supplies them.
Yes. It can be done 10 to 12 months after the last check and still keep the original expiry date, so booking up to two months early costs you nothing.
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Gas Safe registered engineers across North, West and Central London. CP12 from £65, certificate emailed the same day.
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