The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 set out exactly what a CP12 must contain. This page lists every required field, explains the landlord's obligations, and covers what happens when a record is missing or incomplete.
The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, Regulation 36, places a duty on landlords of residential properties to arrange an annual gas safety check by a Gas Safe registered engineer. The result of that check must be recorded on a gas safety record.
This is not a best-practice recommendation. It is a statutory obligation enforced by the Health and Safety Executive. Failure can result in a fine, an improvement notice, or prosecution.
The engineer who carries out the check is responsible for completing the record correctly. The landlord is responsible for obtaining it, retaining it, and providing it to tenants. Both parties have distinct legal obligations. Neither can rely on the other.
One point that surprises landlords: the obligation applies to rented properties, not to owner-occupied homes. A homeowner can choose to have an annual gas safety check. A landlord has no choice.
Regulation 36(3) specifies the minimum content of a gas safety record. A certificate missing any of these is not legally compliant.
Obtaining the CP12 is not the end of the landlord's obligation. The regulations specify what must happen next.
For new tenancies, a copy of the most recent gas safety record must go to the tenant before they move in. This is a condition of the tenancy. A landlord who does not provide it before occupation has already breached the regulations.
For existing tenancies, the landlord must provide a copy of the new record within 28 days of the check. The tenant does not have to ask. The landlord must send it unprompted.
Each gas safety record must be retained for at least 2 years. Most property solicitors recommend indefinite retention. For a portfolio of 20 properties with annual checks, that is 20 records per year. a manageable digital archive, an unwieldy box of paper.
Tenants have the right to request to see the record at any time. A landlord who cannot locate the record is in a weak position.
A missing CP12 is not a paperwork inconvenience. It is a statutory breach that HSE has the power to prosecute.
HSE can serve an improvement notice requiring the landlord to comply within a specified period. Non-compliance leads to prosecution. Penalties include unlimited fines and, for persistent non-compliance, imprisonment.
An incomplete CP12. one that exists but is missing required fields. may not satisfy the legal obligation. A certificate without a Gas Safe number, or one covering the boiler but not the gas fire in the living room, is not full compliance.
Landlords also face civil consequences. If a gas-related incident occurs on a property without a valid CP12, insurers may refuse to pay out. Mortgage lenders who discover a compliance failure on a buy-to-let portfolio can call in the loan. The commercial consequence is often more severe than the regulatory one.
A record covering most appliances is better than no record. But "most appliances" is not the standard. The regulation requires every appliance and flue.
When an engineer finds an unsafe appliance, the record becomes more important, not less.
The gas industry unsafe situations procedure classifies unsafe appliances as Immediately Dangerous (ID), At Risk (AR), or Not to Current Standards (NCS). An ID appliance must be disconnected before the engineer leaves. An AR appliance carries a warning notice. The engineer records the classification, the defect, and the action taken.
The CP12 must still be issued, showing the outcome for each appliance. including the condemned one. The landlord receives the record. The tenant has the right to a copy. The record of an ID finding is the paper trail that protects the engineer who condemned the appliance and places the responsibility for remediation on the landlord.
A landlord who allows a tenant to reconnect a condemned appliance, or who fails to arrange repair within a reasonable time, has moved from a paperwork problem to a criminal one.
Under Regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, a gas safety record must include: the date of the check; the address of the property; the name and address of the landlord; a description of each appliance or flue inspected; the location of each appliance; the defects identified; the action taken to resolve defects; confirmation that the appliance is safe for continued use; the name, registration number, and signature of the engineer; and the date of the next check due.
A landlord who fails to carry out or retain a gas safety record faces prosecution under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. HSE can issue improvement notices, prohibition notices, or prosecute. Landlords also risk insurance voidance if a gas-related incident occurs on a property without a valid CP12.
Under the 1998 Regulations, landlords must keep gas safety records for at least 2 years from the date of check. Most solicitors and letting agents recommend indefinite retention, particularly for properties with long tenancy histories.
Yes. The record must still be issued. It documents the finding, the classification (Immediately Dangerous, At Risk, or Not to Current Standards), and the action taken. An ID or AR classification triggers the engineer's obligation under the gas industry unsafe situations procedure. The landlord receives the record regardless of outcome.
Quickler workflows prompt the engineer for each mandatory field. Nothing is left blank by accident.