Gas Safety Record (CP12): what landlords must do
What the annual landlord gas safety check covers, who can carry it out, the 12-month rule and the deadlines for giving records to tenants.
This is a plain-English explainer, not legal advice. The authority on this topic is the Health and Safety Executive. Rules change — check the current official guidance before relying on it.
A Gas Safety Record: still widely called a CP12, after the old form number, is the document produced when a Gas Safe registered engineer carries out the annual safety check on gas appliances and flues in a rented property.
The name causes confusion. CP12 isn't a certificate of installation and not a service. It records that a safety check was performed and what was found.
What it covers
- Gas appliances the landlord owns and is responsible for
- Flues and chimneys serving those appliances
- Gas tightness, ventilation and burner pressure where applicable
- The result for each appliance, and whether any were classed as unsafe
Appliances belonging to the tenant are outside it, though the flue serving them is generally not.
Who can do it
Only a Gas Safe registered engineer. Registration can be checked on the Gas Safe Register, and the engineer's card carries the categories of work they are qualified for (a registration is not a blanket authorisation for every appliance) type.
The 12-month rule and the deadlines
The check is annual. Two deadlines matter and are frequently missed:
- A copy to existing tenants within 28 days of the check
- A copy to new tenants at the start of the tenancy
Records must be kept for at least two years. There is also a useful provision: a check carried out in the final two months of the current record's validity keeps the original anniversary date, so booking early doesn't shorten the cycle. Landlords who don't know this often delay the appointment and end up out of date.
Where this goes wrong across a portfolio
Individually the obligation is simple. Across forty properties with different anniversary dates it becomes an administration problem, and the failure is usually a property that changed manager or was added mid-year. The fix is to attach the schedule to the property when it enters the portfolio, not to a person's calendar, see property management.
Common questions
- What is a CP12 certificate?
- CP12 is the old form number for what is properly called a Landlord Gas Safety Record. It is the document produced when a Gas Safe registered engineer carries out the annual safety check on the gas appliances and flues a landlord is responsible for. It records that a check happened and what was found; it is not a service record and not an installation certificate.
- How long does a landlord have to give a tenant the gas safety record?
- Existing tenants must receive a copy within 28 days of the check, and new tenants must receive one at the start of the tenancy. Records must be kept for at least two years. Missing these deadlines is a breach even where the check itself was carried out on time.
- Does an early gas safety check shorten the annual cycle?
- No. A check carried out within the last two months of the current record's validity keeps the original anniversary date, so booking early does not lose you time. Landlords who assume otherwise often delay the appointment and end up with a lapsed record.
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