The document people call a gas safety certificate is, in the regulations, a record of the annual check. It names the engineer and their registration number, lists the appliances and flues inspected, records the results and any defects, and is dated. There is no national template that makes it official: what makes it valid is a registered engineer and an accurate record.
What has to be on it: a gas safety certificate example
The date of the check, the address, the engineer's name, signature and registration number, a description of each appliance and its location, the results for each, any defects and the action taken, and confirmation the flues and safety devices were tested.
How often
Annually for let property. The check must be carried out at intervals of no more than twelve months, and the regulations allow a check up to two months before the deadline while keeping the original anniversary date, which is what the grace period people ask about refers to.
Getting it to the tenant
Existing tenants must receive a copy within twenty eight days of the check, and new tenants at the start of the tenancy. Where a property is let for under twenty eight days, the record can be displayed instead.
Scotland and the rest of Great Britain
The regulations apply across Great Britain, so a landlord in Scotland has the same annual duty as one in England or Wales. What differs is the wider tenancy law around it, not the gas duty, so a Scottish landlord searching for a certificate is searching for exactly the same record as one in England.
How much for a gas safety certificate, and what moves the number
The work is priced on appliances rather than on the property, because that is what the engineer inspects: a one appliance flat sits at the bottom of any price list and each additional boiler, fire, hob or water heater adds inspection time. Four things move it after that. Access, since a boiler in a boxed in cupboard or a fire with a sealed surround takes longer. Whether a boiler service is bundled in, which is a different job often sold alongside and worth separating in the quote so you can compare like with like. Travel and the minimum charge, which dominate a single appliance visit. And anything found, because a defect means a decision on the day about capping off or repairing, and an appliance classified as immediately dangerous is disconnected there and then whatever the plan for the day was.
A gas safety certificate pdf, and what makes a copy valid
A PDF is perfectly valid and is how nearly every record now arrives; what matters is what is on it. It should name the engineer and carry their Gas Safe registration number, list every appliance inspected with its location, give the results of the checks and the safety classification of anything that failed, and be signed and dated. The landlord's duty is about supplying the record rather than the format: a copy to existing tenants within 28 days of the check, and to a new tenant before they move in. Two things to do with the PDF the day it arrives: check the registration number against the national register, which takes a minute, and check that every gas appliance in the property appears on it, because an appliance omitted from the list has not been inspected however satisfactory the rest of the sheet looks.
Questions people ask about gas safety certificate
How often do you need a gas safety certificate?
Every twelve months for a let property. The check can be done in the two months before the anniversary without losing the original date.
Is there a grace period?
There is no grace after the deadline. What exists is the ability to check early, up to two months in advance, and keep the same anniversary. After the anniversary you are in breach.
Do homeowners need one?
No legal duty, though many buy an annual check anyway, and buyers and insurers increasingly ask for recent records.
Is a gas safety certificate Bristol landlords buy different from anywhere else?
No. The record is the same national document, issued by a Gas Safe registered engineer against the same checks, and the twelve month cycle and the twenty eight day handover rule are the same in every part of Great Britain. What varies locally is availability and the licensing attention a council pays: where a selective or HMO licensing scheme runs, the record is asked for as part of the licence, which makes the practical deadline tighter. Check the engineer's card for the appliance types they are registered for rather than the postcode on their van.
Are gas and electrical safety checks on the same clock?
No, and mixing them up is the commonest landlord mistake. The gas safety record is annual, carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer on every appliance and flue the landlord provides, with a copy to the tenant within twenty eight days and to a new tenant before they move in. The electrical installation condition report is at least every five years in England, with the report to the tenant within twenty eight days and any remedial work done within twenty eight days of the report. One is a twelve month cycle on appliances and the other a five year cycle on the fixed installation.