Landlords
Landlord gas safety certificates in Liverpool: the rules
What most people call a landlord gas safety certificate is, in HSE's words, a gas safety check record. With more than half of Liverpool's households renting, it's one of the most common pieces of gas paperwork in the city. Here is what the law requires, and the dates that matter.
Short answer
Landlords must have every gas appliance and flue they provide checked every year by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Give existing tenants a copy within 28 days and new tenants a copy before they move in. Keep records for at least two years. A check up to two months early can keep the original deadline.
Work out your dates
Your gas safety check dates
Enter the date of the last check. The ring shows how much of the year has gone; the list shows the next deadline and the other dates HSE's guidance sets.
Use the date on the last gas safety record. The tool works out the next deadline, the early window, and the dates for tenants' copies and record keeping.
Enter the date of the last check.
- Next check due by
- –
- Early window opens
- –
- Tenants' copy was due by
- –
- Keep that record until at least
- –
Dates from HSE's guidance on landlords' duties. This is a reminder tool, not legal advice; the record itself and HSE's guidance are what count. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
The duty
What the law asks of landlords
The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 36, set the duties. HSE's guidance puts them plainly: a landlord must make sure every gas appliance, permanent or portable, and every flue that it owns and provides for tenants' use has a gas safety check every year. The check must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer, whose card and registration you can confirm as described in checking a Gas Safe engineer.
Pipework is the landlord's responsibility too, even where a tenant has brought their own appliance: the landlord isn't responsible for that appliance, but must keep the pipework safe. HSE recommends including all flues, such as chimneys, connected to gas appliances in the check, even where they don't serve appliances the landlord provides.
Maintenance is a separate duty from the annual check. HSE says there's no prescribed timeframe for it, but good practice is regular, annual maintenance (see boiler servicing) with any repairs that follow.
Who counts
Are you a landlord for gas safety?
| Situation | Annual check needed? |
|---|---|
| You let a house or flat | Yes, for appliances and flues you provide |
| You have a lodger who pays rent | Yes: you're classed as a landlord |
| You employ live-in domestic staff | Yes |
| You own a shop and let the flat above | Yes: domestic gas duties apply to the flat |
| You sold an appliance to the tenant | No: the tenant becomes responsible for that appliance |
| Holiday lets under 28 days | Yes; the record can be displayed prominently |
The record
Records, copies and the early window
Copies. Existing tenants must receive a copy within 28 days of the check. New tenants must have a copy before they move in. For occupancies of less than 28 days, such as holiday lets, a legible copy can be displayed prominently instead. An electronic copy is fine if the tenant is happy to receive it that way, but they can ask for paper.
Keeping records. At least two years. The record must include the landlord's or letting agent's name and address, and identify the engineer, but the landlord doesn't have to sign it.
The early window. The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 let a check be carried out up to two months before the deadline while keeping the original deadline date, as if it had been done exactly 12 months after the previous one. To rely on it, you need the records to show you've complied.
Carbon monoxide alarms
The 2022 alarm rules for rented homes
Since 1 October 2022, landlords in England, private and social, must make sure a carbon monoxide alarm is fitted in any room used as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance, excluding gas cookers. At least one smoke alarm must be fitted on every storey used as living accommodation. GOV.UK's guidance for landlords sets out the detail.
Gas boilers, gas fires and wood-burners are all fixed combustion appliances; gas cookers are specifically excluded. See carbon monoxide safety.
Liverpool
Why this matters so much here
Census 2021 shows 26.1% of Liverpool households renting from a private landlord or agent, and 26.4% renting from a council or housing association, against 20.5% and 17.1% across England. Owner-occupiers are a minority, at 46.8%. With most homes heated by mains gas, the annual check affects a large share of the city's households.
For tenants that means the gas safety record is one of the most important documents they hold. For landlords with several properties, the dates multiply, which is why planning checks inside the two-month window is worth doing.
Common problems
When the check finds something
If the engineer finds an appliance "at risk" or "immediately dangerous", it will be labelled Danger, Do Not Use, and it's illegal to use an appliance you suspect is unsafe. If heating is disconnected as a result, HSE says the landlord must provide the tenant with emergency heating while arranging repair by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and the local authority can advise. If the engineer recommends a new boiler rather than a repair, repair or replace sets out what to ask before agreeing.
If a tenant leaves an appliance behind that you decide to keep, include it in the checks and maintenance. If you'd rather not, remove it or have it checked before the next tenant arrives.
For tenants
If you haven't had a copy
Ask your landlord or letting agent in writing. If you still don't have a current record, HSE says you can report it using its form LGSR1. Social tenants should raise it with their council or housing association first. See tenants' gas safety rights and what the record should show.
Landlord questions
How often does a landlord need a gas safety check?
Every year, on each gas appliance and flue the landlord provides, by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
When must tenants get a copy?
Existing tenants within 28 days of the check; new tenants before they move in. For stays under 28 days, a copy can be displayed prominently instead.
How long must records be kept?
At least two years.
Can I do the check early without losing a month?
Yes. Under a 2018 change, a check done up to two months before the deadline can keep the original deadline date, as long as you can show the records.
Do I count as a landlord if I have a lodger?
Yes. HSE says if someone pays you rent to live in your home, you are classed as a landlord and need an annual gas safety check.
What about appliances the tenant owns?
The landlord is responsible for appliances it provides, and for the pipework, but not for a tenant’s own appliance. HSE recommends including all flues in the check.
Sources used on this page
- Landlords’ responsibility for gas safety · HSE (3 November 2026)
- Gas safety checks: who needs them · HSE (3 November 2026)
- Gas safety checks: what needs them · HSE (3 November 2026)
- Gas safety checks: who can do them · HSE (3 November 2026)
- Gas safety check records and what to keep · HSE (3 November 2026)
- Domestic gas: frequently asked questions · HSE (3 November 2026)
- Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 36 · legislation.gov.uk (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)
- Census 2021 TS054, tenure, Liverpool and England · Nomis (3 November 2026)
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