What Do Gas Safety Regulations Mean for Landlords in Leicester?

If you decide to become a landlord, there are multiple gas safety regulations and responsibilities you must fulfil. Understanding these requirements is crucial to keeping your tenants safe and staying compliant with UK law. In this latest blog post, we explain what every landlord in Leicester needs to know about gas safety certificates, inspections, and maintenance duties.

Understanding a Landlord’s Gas Safety Responsibilities

A landlord is anyone that rents out a property under a license or lease that is shorter than seven years. The duties of a landlord apply to various types of accommodation, including, but not limited to:

• Properties available to rent by local authorities, housing associations, housing cooperatives, private sector landlords and hostels.
• Landlords are legally required to ensure that all gas appliances, fittings, chimneys, and flues provided for tenants are safe and regularly maintained. An annual gas safety check must be completed by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and a valid Gas Safety Certificate (CP12) must be issued to tenants.

For a broader breakdown of these legal obligations, take a look at What Are My Gas Safety Responsibilities?.

What Type of Properties Are Covered Under Gas Safety Regulations?

A landlord also has the same responsibilities if they let out separate rooms within a property to multiple tenants that share the house, such as, bed-sit accommodation, hotels, bed and breakfasts, and private households.

Even short-term rentals or shared accommodation require gas safety compliance under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. Each property, no matter how small or temporary, must have evidence of regular inspection and documentation.

If you’re unsure whether your property type qualifies, our article Gas Safety Tips for Your Rented Property offers practical insights for landlords of all kinds.

Ensuring Legal Access for Gas Safety Checks

Any contract made between a landlord and a tenant should allow the landlord to have access to the property for relevant maintenance and safety checks. Further information on how a property can be accessed by a landlord may be found in section 39 of the Gas Safety Regulations 1998.

Access should always be arranged respectfully and with reasonable notice, typically 24 hours in writing, unless there is an emergency.

What to Do if Tenants Refuse Gas Safety Access

In order to remain compliant with the law, a landlord must show that they took reasonable steps to comply with all gas safety regulations. If access to the property cannot be made, the Health and Safety Executive suggests that a landlord carries out the following:

• Leave the tenant a note to explain that a gas safety check was attempted, providing contact details so another appointment may be arranged.
• Write to the tenant, highlighting that a gas safety check is a legal requirement and that the check is in the best interests of the tenant. An opportunity for the tenant to arrange their own appointment should be given.

If no gas safety check has been completed, the Health and Safety Executive will want to see that multiple attempts have been made which are appropriate to each individual circumstance, so it is important to keep a record of all correspondence made.

Keeping a paper trail, emails, letters, and call logs, proves due diligence and protects you legally if access is denied multiple times.

For answers to common questions landlords often face during this process, visit our Gas Safety FAQs.

Stay Gas Safe with Professional Help

For landlords, staying compliant with gas safety regulations isn’t just about ticking a box; it’s about protecting lives and avoiding costly penalties.

The team at EGP Plumbers are Gas Safe registered, so if your gas safety certificate needs renewing, a general service is required, or you’re concerned that your boiler may be suffering a fault, contact our trusted team today on 0116 264 5115.