There was some confusion on a blog earlier today. I thought it was only right that as managing agents, I would take the time out to clarify for those landlords who rent privately.

A Mrs Tara Plumbing (from Gas Safe) left a comment on the website saying that the information on the web page was incorrect. You can only imagine how we took that.

The piece of information in question was where I said a landlord was legally obliged to have a gas safety inspection annually. By ‘Gas Safety Inspection’, I meant, a landlord is legally required to have a gas safety certificate renewed annually, which of course is a legal obligation for landlords.

Plumbings said that an inspection is required every time a new tenant moves in. The confusion occurred because I assumed (because she gave me the impression) she was classing a ‘Gas Safety Inspection’ and ‘Gas Safety Certificate’ as the same thing. After all, the blog post was about GAS Safety Certificates. Obviously, it was all her fault – she should have clarified.

Firstly, to answer the question in the title..

A landlord is required to only renew their gas safety certificate annually – no more, no less. I know from experience that some people so assume that a new certificate is required every time a new tenant moves in, but that is not the case.

Heres what Gas Safe say on the issue;

Gas safety checks: a 12 monthly gas safety check must be carried out on every gas appliance/flue. A gas safety check will make sure gas fittings and appliances are safe to use.

Record: a record of the annual gas safety check must be provided to your tenant within 28 days of the check being completed or to new tenants before they move in. Landlords must keep copies of the gas safety record for two years.