Gas Safety Week: A Practical Checklist for London Landlords

What Is Gas Safety Week and Why Does It Matter for London Landlords?

Gas Safety Week is an annual awareness campaign coordinated by Gas Safe Register, typically held in September, aimed at reminding households and landlords of the importance of gas safety checks and carbon monoxide protection. For London landlords, Gas Safety Week is a useful annual prompt to audit the gas safety compliance status of their entire portfolio — not because the campaign creates any new legal obligation, but because the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 create ongoing obligations that run continuously throughout the year, and a structured annual review reduces the risk of an anniversary date being missed. With the number of London private rental properties now exceeding 600,000, and enforcement action by London borough councils continuing to increase, maintaining a clean compliance record is both a legal and commercial priority.

CP12 Checklist: The Core Gas Safety Obligation

The Gas Safety Record — informally called the CP12 after the form originally used — is required annually for every tenanted property containing a gas appliance. Work through the following checklist for each property in your portfolio. First, confirm the anniversary date of the current gas safety certificate — this date is printed on the certificate issued by the engineer. Second, if the current certificate will expire within 60 days, contact your Gas Safe registered contractor and book the inspection. Third, ensure the inspection is carried out before the current certificate expires — not simply before the same date next year. Fourth, obtain the new certificate from the engineer and confirm all appliances are recorded as safe. Fifth, deliver a copy to all existing tenants within 28 days of the inspection date. Sixth, retain the certificate for a minimum of two years. If you have new tenants moving in before the next annual inspection, they must receive a copy of the current certificate before or on the day they move in.

Carbon Monoxide Alarm Compliance

The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 require a CO alarm to be installed in every room of a rented property containing a fixed combustion appliance. This means any room with a gas boiler, gas fire, or gas cooker requires a CO alarm. The 2022 amendment extended the previous requirement — which applied only to solid fuel appliances — to gas appliances, meaning that many London properties that were compliant under the old rules now require additional alarms. Check each property to confirm that a CO alarm is present in the boiler room or kitchen (where the boiler is sited), in any room with a gas fire, and in any kitchen with a gas cooker. Alarms must be in working order and must be tested at the start of each new tenancy. Battery replacement is a landlord obligation when reported as failed.

Boiler Service Status

An annual boiler service is not a specific legal requirement for landlords in the same way as the gas safety certificate — the Regulations require an annual safety inspection, not a service. However, an annual service is strongly recommended and is typically required as a condition of the boiler manufacturer warranty. A serviced boiler is also more likely to pass the gas safety inspection cleanly, whereas a boiler that has not been maintained may require remedial work to pass. For London landlords who combine the gas safety certificate and annual boiler service in a single visit — as most do — the service and safety inspection are carried out simultaneously at a combined cost of approximately £120 to £160 for a combi boiler property. This is more economical than booking the two separately and causes less disruption to tenants.

Appliance Condition Checks

During Gas Safety Week, carry out a visual inspection of all gas appliances in each property. A gas appliance burning with a yellow or orange flame rather than a clean blue flame is exhibiting incomplete combustion and should be inspected by a Gas Safe engineer immediately. Listen for unusual noises — booming ignition sounds, persistent ticking, or rumbling from the heat exchanger — that may indicate combustion problems or scale build-up. Check the condensate pipe on the boiler: it should be discharging clear or slightly acidic condensate to the drain with no signs of blockage or staining. Inspect visible gas pipework for signs of corrosion, damage, or unsupported runs that could cause stress failure at joints.

Flue Terminal Inspection

The flue terminal is the external termination of the boiler flue and must be positioned and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer specification and Building Regulations Document J. Check the external flue terminal for visible damage, bird nests, accumulated debris, or vegetation growth that could obstruct the flue. The terminal must have a minimum clearance from windows, doors, ventilation openings, and corners as specified in the Gas Safety Regulations. In London, particularly in properties with recently added extensions or outbuildings, flue terminal clearances can be inadvertently compromised by new construction that was not assessed against flue clearance requirements. A blocked or inadequately ventilated flue is a carbon monoxide risk and will typically result in an ID (immediately dangerous) classification on the CP12.

Tenant Briefing and Emergency Information

Gas Safety Week is an appropriate time to ensure all tenants know where the gas emergency isolation valve is located — the lever handle on the gas supply pipe, usually adjacent to the meter — and how to operate it in an emergency. All tenants should have the National Gas Emergency Service number — 0800 111 999 — displayed in the property and saved to their phones. Tenants should know that if they smell gas, they should turn off the gas at the isolation valve, open windows, do not operate any electrical switches, leave the property, and call 0800 111 999 from outside. A brief written reminder of this procedure, delivered by email or posted in the property, takes minimal time and can prevent serious outcomes in the event of a gas escape.

Record Keeping and Portfolio Management

For landlords with multiple London properties, a structured compliance record-keeping system is essential. Store digital copies of every gas safety certificate, boiler service record, and CO alarm test record for each property, organised by address with the anniversary date prominently noted. A simple spreadsheet tracking each property, its gas safety certificate expiry date, the contractor used, and the date of last delivery to tenants allows you to see the entire portfolio compliance status at a glance. Set calendar reminders 60 days before each anniversary to trigger the booking process. Common mistakes that result in compliance failures include: allowing the certificate to expire because the anniversary date was not tracked; failing to deliver the certificate to new tenants before move-in; and retaining certificates for only one year rather than the required two years.