What certificates does a landlord need in England?

The three documents the law requires

Most confusion comes from mixing up what is a legal certificate, what is a legal duty without a certificate, and what is good practice that a letting agent or insurer may ask for. This table covers a typical private let in England. Wales and Scotland have their own rules.

Gas safety record

Under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, a landlord must have every gas appliance and flue they provide checked every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and keep the installation pipework in a safe condition. The engineer issues a gas safety record listing each appliance, what was checked and any defects found.

You must give a copy to existing tenants within 28 days of the check, and to new tenants before they move in. Keep each record for at least two years. The check can be carried out up to two months before the current record expires while keeping the original renewal date, which makes it easier to fit around tenants without losing months from the cycle.

Appliances the tenant owns are the tenant's responsibility, but the pipework and flues serving them still fall under the landlord's duty to maintain. A gas safety check is also not the same as a boiler service. The check confirms the appliance is safe to use on the day; a service cleans and maintains it. Many landlords book both on the same visit to save a second appointment with the tenant.

If an engineer classes an appliance as Immediately Dangerous, they will ask permission to disconnect it and the tenant should not use it until it is repaired. Treat this as urgent: the tenant may be without heating or hot water until the fault is fixed.

EICR: the electrical safety report

The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 require the fixed electrical installation to be inspected and tested at least every five years by a qualified and competent person. The inspector may set a shorter interval if the installation's condition calls for it.

Give a copy of the report to existing tenants within 28 days, to new tenants before they move in, and to the local council within seven days if it asks for one. If the report says remedial work or further investigation is needed, that work has to be completed within 28 days or sooner if the report specifies, and you then need written confirmation that it is done. An unsatisfactory EICR filed away with no follow-up is a common gap in landlord paperwork.

EPC and the minimum energy rating

You need a valid EPC to market and let a home, and tenants must be given a copy. Under the minimum energy efficiency standard, a private rented home in England generally has to be rated E or above before it can be let, unless a valid exemption is registered on the government's exemptions register. An EPC lasts ten years, but if you improve the heating or insulation it can be worth getting a new one so the rating reflects the work.

The government has consulted on raising the minimum rating for rented homes, so check the current position on GOV.UK before planning heating or insulation work around it. A replacement boiler, better heating controls or an insulated hot water cylinder can all affect the rating.

Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms

There is no alarm certificate, but the duty is legal. A private landlord must fit a smoke alarm on every storey used as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room used as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance, such as a gas boiler or wood burner. Gas cookers are excluded from the carbon monoxide requirement.

The alarms must be working on the day a new tenancy starts, and repaired or replaced once a tenant reports a fault. Record the check in your check-in inventory or a signed note so you can show it was done. The gas engineer carrying out the annual check can tell you whether a carbon monoxide alarm is present near the boiler, but testing the alarms is still the landlord's job.

Legionella, PAT testing and other paperwork

The Health and Safety Executive expects landlords to assess and control the risk from legionella in the water system. For most homes that is a simple assessment: no stagnant pipework, hot water stored hot enough, cold tanks covered and clean. There is no legal requirement for a legionella certificate or water testing in an ordinary let, whatever a sales email may say.

PAT testing of portable appliances is not a legal requirement for a standard private single let, although it is sensible if you supply kettles, washing machines or other electrical items, and some HMO licences require it. At the start of a tenancy you must also give the tenant the current How to Rent guide and, where a deposit is taken, the deposit protection information. Those are documents, not certificates, but missing them can cause problems later.

HMOs and London licensing schemes

Houses in multiple occupation have extra management duties, and larger HMOs need a mandatory licence. Many London boroughs also run additional or selective licensing schemes that cover ordinary single lets in certain streets. Licence conditions commonly require you to send the council your gas safety record and EICR, sometimes every year, and may add requirements such as PAT testing or fire alarm servicing.

Check your borough's scheme before a tenancy starts. The certificates themselves are the same; what changes is who you must send them to and how often.

Keeping the certificates on one schedule

The simplest way to stay compliant is to put every property on one calendar: gas safety record due date, EICR due date, EPC expiry and the alarm check at each change of tenant. Set reminders about eight weeks before each gas record expires so there is time to arrange access with the tenant.

Keep the certificates with the repair history for each property, so a new agent or engineer can see what was found and what was done.

• Gas safety record: annual, copy to tenants within 28 days
• EICR: at least every five years, remedial work within 28 days
• EPC: every ten years, and before any new letting if it has expired
• Alarms: checked on the first day of every tenancy
• Legionella: assessment on file, reviewed when the system changes

Book your gas safety check and EICR

Loyal Plumbers carries out landlord gas safety checks across London and everywhere inside the M25, with gas work done by Gas Safe registered engineers, and arranges EICRs for rented homes. We can combine the gas check with a boiler service and, where needed, book the electrical inspection for the same week so the tenant is disturbed as little as possible. If a check turns up a defect, we can quote for the repair and put it right.

Call us or send an enquiry with the property address, the appliances on site and the current expiry dates, and we will arrange a time that works for you and your tenant.