Guide · moving in
Moving into a rented home: gas safety checks to make
Moving day is busy, and gas safety is easy to forget until the heating doesn't come on. A few checks, mostly before you sign or on the first day, make sure your new home's gas appliances are legal and safe, and that you know what to do if something goes wrong.
Short answer
Ask for the gas safety record before you move in, which your landlord must provide, and check it's in date and covers every appliance. On the first day, check for carbon monoxide alarms in rooms with a boiler or gas fire, find the meter and its control valve, and note your landlord's emergency contact.
Before you sign
Ask for the gas safety record
New tenants must be given a copy of the latest gas safety check record before they move in, HSE's guidance says. Ask for it while you're still deciding, or at the latest when you sign. Check three things:
- The date: the check must have been done within the last 12 months.
- The appliances: every gas appliance you'll be using should appear, including the boiler, any gas fire and a cooker the landlord provides.
- Defects: anything noted as needing work, and whether it's been done.
If the landlord can't produce a current record, treat it as a warning sign about how the property is managed.
On the first day
The first-day checklist
| Check | Why |
|---|---|
| Carbon monoxide alarm in rooms with a boiler or gas fire | Required in rented homes in England since October 2022 |
| A smoke alarm on every storey you live in | Also required |
| Where the gas meter and control valve are | To turn off the gas in an emergency |
| The boiler's make and model, and controls | For reporting faults and using it well |
| Vents and air bricks clear | Some appliances need them to burn safely |
| The landlord's emergency contact | For faults out of hours |
Test it
Alarms that work
The landlord must make sure the alarms are in working order on the day a new tenancy starts. Press the test button on each one with the landlord or agent present, or soon after moving in, and report any that don't work. Carbon monoxide alarms are required in any room used as living accommodation that has a fixed combustion appliance, such as a boiler, gas fire or wood-burner; gas cookers are excluded.
After that, test them regularly yourself, and tell the landlord if one stops working.
Your own appliances
Bringing your own cooker or fire
If you bring a gas cooker or other appliance with you, it's yours to keep safe, though the landlord remains responsible for the pipework it connects to. It must be connected by a Gas Safe registered engineer qualified for that appliance. Check with the landlord first: some tenancies don't allow tenants to add gas appliances, and the connection point must be suitable.
If the previous tenant left an appliance, ask whether the landlord is keeping it; if so, it should be covered by the annual checks.
Suppliers and meters
Gas supply and the meter
Take a meter reading on the day you move in, with a photo, and tell the gas supplier. Ask the landlord or agent who the supplier is. A prepayment meter may need a new card or key; problems with supply or the meter go to the supplier, not a gas engineer, unless there's a smell of gas, which means calling 0800 111 999 straight away.
Through the tenancy
Keeping track
Note when the next annual check is due, 12 months after the date on your record, and expect the landlord to arrange it. You should get a copy of each new record within 28 days. Keep them all with your tenancy agreement; they're your evidence that the landlord met their duties, and useful if a dispute ever arises. See tenants' rights and reading the record.
If something's missing
What to do if the checks fail
No record, an out-of-date record, missing alarms or an appliance labelled "Danger, Do Not Use": raise each in writing with the landlord or agent straight away, and keep a copy. If there's no current gas safety record, HSE says you can report it using its form LGSR1. Social tenants should use their council's or housing association's repairs process. If you smell gas at any point, call 0800 111 999. See what to do if you smell gas and carbon monoxide safety.
Moving in is also a good moment to save the gas emergency number in your phone and to show everyone in the household where the meter control valve is.
Shared homes
Moving into a shared house or flat
In shared houses and student flats, a legible copy of the gas safety record can be displayed prominently rather than given to each tenant, but you must be told where it is and how to get your own copy. Check that it's there and in date when you arrive, and that every room with a boiler or gas fire used as living space has a carbon monoxide alarm.
Agree among housemates who will report faults to the landlord, so problems aren't left because everyone assumed someone else had called.
Finally, take a photo of the boiler's data badge and the gas meter on your first day. If anything goes wrong later, having the make, model and meter details on your phone makes reporting it to the landlord, the supplier or an engineer much quicker, especially out of hours.
Most of these checks take minutes, and they're far easier on day one than in the middle of a winter breakdown.
Sources used on this page
- Gas safety check records and what to keep · HSE (3 November 2026)
- Domestic gas: frequently asked questions · HSE (3 November 2026)
- Smoke and carbon monoxide alarm regulations: Q&A for the private rented sector · GOV.UK (3 November 2026)
- Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022: guidance · GOV.UK (3 November 2026)
- Gas safety checks: who needs them · HSE (3 November 2026)
A question about gas work in your home?
Tell us what you're trying to sort out. Your message reaches SEO-DONS LTD, the publisher of this guide, and we answer by email. We don't do gas work or recommend engineers, but we can tell you what to check and where. If you smell gas, don't write to us: call 0800 111 999 now.
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