Gas and Electrical Certificates: What Landlords Need, When

Rental compliance has many small duties, but two certificates carry most of the weight: the annual gas safety record (widely called a CP12) and the Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) every five years. Between them they cover the two ways a property can kill someone, and courts treat them accordingly.

Gas: the annual CP12

Every let property with gas appliances needs a gas safety check every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer, covering each appliance and flue you supply. You must give tenants a copy within 28 days of the check — and new tenants a copy before they move in. Keep records for at least two years. Typical cost: £60–£120, often less bundled with a boiler service. Two practical rules save landlords grief: use the MOT-style rule allowing renewal in the final two months while keeping the anniversary date, and start access requests early in writing if a tenant is evasive — a documented trail of reasonable attempts is your defence.

Electrics: the five-yearly EICR

Since 2020, every private tenancy in England needs a satisfactory EICR — an inspection of the fixed installation (consumer unit, wiring, sockets) by a qualified person — at least every five years. Give a copy to existing tenants within 28 days, to new tenants before occupation, and to the council within 7 days if they ask. Remedial work flagged as C1/C2 (danger or potential danger) must be completed within 28 days (or sooner if the report says so), with written confirmation to tenant and council on request. Typical cost: £120–£250 depending on size; councils can fine up to £30,000 for breaches. Note the EICR covers the installation, not your appliances — PAT testing of supplied appliances is not legally mandated but is cheap and sensible for furnished lets.

The rest of the safety stack, quickly

• Smoke alarms on every storey, working at the start of each tenancy; carbon monoxide alarms in any room with a fixed combustion appliance (excluding gas cookers). Repair or replace promptly when tenants report faults.
• Furniture fire safety labels for furnished lets; Legionella risk assessment (a simple documented common-sense review for most single lets); and for HMOs, the whole additional regime in our HMO fire safety guide.

Why paperwork discipline matters double now

These certificates are not just safety duties — they are conditions of possession. Serving a valid Section 21 has long required gas certificates and the EICR to be in order, and under the grounds-based system arriving with the Renters' Rights Act, sloppy compliance is exactly what tenants' defences will target. The habit that works: one compliance calendar per property — gas annual, EICR five-yearly, alarm checks each tenancy start — plus a folder (digital is fine) holding every certificate and proof of service. Ten minutes of admin per year per property; see the full obligations guide for the complete list.

This is general information about the law in England, not personalised legal advice — Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different rules, and landlord law changes regularly (some areas covered here are under active reform). For anything that affects a real tenancy, check GOV.UK for the current position or speak to a solicitor or a body like the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA).