Landlord Gas Safety Certificate (CP12): the rules, dates and penalties

What the law requires

Under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, a landlord must have every gas appliance, flue and fitting they provide checked for safety at least every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

The engineer issues a Landlord Gas Safety Record (often called a CP12). You must give a copy to existing tenants within 28 days of the check, and to any new tenant before they move in.

The 12-month rule and the two-month window

• The check must be done within 12 months of the last one.
• You can carry out the check up to two months before the deadline without shortening the 12-month cycle - the new certificate still runs from the old expiry date, so early checking never costs you time.
• Records must be kept for at least two years.

Penalties

Failure to comply is a criminal offence. The Health and Safety Executive can prosecute, with unlimited fines and, in the most serious cases involving death, custodial sentences.

A missing or expired gas certificate also blocks possession: you cannot rely on certain grounds if you have not given the tenant a valid record.