Landlord gas safety certificate cost: what landlords gas safety certificate cost and landlord gas certificate cost figures cover, and what a landlord fined for no gas safety certificate faces

How landlord gas safety certificate cost works

1. Understand the duty. Annual checks of every gas appliance and flue by a Gas Safe registered engineer, maintenance of those appliances in a safe condition, and a record given to tenants. All three sit on the landlord, not on the tenant and not on the agent unless the agency agreement says so.
2. Get the agency agreement right. Where an agent manages the property, the contract should say plainly who arranges the check, who holds the records and who chases access. Landlords remain liable in law whatever the contract says, so the contract is about who acts rather than who is responsible.
3. Keep the records. Records must be kept for at least two years and given to tenants within the statutory period. A folder per property with the last three records answers most enquiries, including a buyer's solicitor on sale.
4. Price it per property, annually. Number of appliances, travel and whether a service is bundled. Landlords with several properties can usually agree a schedule with one firm at a better rate than booking each one separately.
5. Act on what the engineer finds. An unsafe appliance found at the check has to be dealt with. Leaving it turned off and unrepaired between tenancies is a decision to make deliberately rather than by accident.

Paperwork and evidence

Common questions

What happens if a landlord has no gas safety certificate?

It is a criminal offence under the gas safety regulations, prosecutable by HSE, with fines that are not capped. It can also affect the validity of a section 21 notice in England and any insurance claim.

How long must records be kept?

At least two years, and tenants must be given a copy within the statutory period, with new tenants given one at the start of the tenancy.

Does the certificate transfer when I sell?

The duty follows the landlord of the property. A buyer taking over a tenancy needs the records, and a conveyancer will ask for them.

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