Letting agents and gas safety: who holds the legal duty
The legal duty for gas safety in a rented home starts with the landlord. If the management contract makes the letting agent responsible for maintenance and the yearly safety check, HSE says the same duties under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 then apply to the agent. Whether an agent holds the duty depends on what the contract says.
Where the duty starts
Regulation 36 puts the duty on the landlord of a home let under a lease of less than 7 years, or under a licence. The landlord must keep the gas appliances, pipework and flues they provide in a safe condition, and have each appliance and flue checked for safety at least every 12 months.
The duty cannot be passed to a tenant. Under regulation 36(10), nothing a tenant does or agrees to do counts towards the landlord’s duty, except giving access for the work. HSE adds that a tenancy agreement cannot be used to transfer these responsibilities to a tenant.
When the agent takes it on
HSE’s guidance for landlords says the management contract should state clearly who is responsible for maintenance, the safety checks and keeping the records. If the contract gives the agent that responsibility, the same duties that apply to a landlord apply to the agent. HSE also strongly advises landlords to ask the agent for copies of the maintenance records and safety checks. The FAQ on agents and landlords gives the short answer.
The record reflects the arrangement: regulation 36 requires it to give the name and address of the landlord or, where appropriate, the landlord’s agent.
What the agent then has to deliver
An agent holding the duty has to make sure that:
- each appliance and flue is checked at least every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer
- each existing tenant gets a copy of the record within 28 days of the check
- each new tenant gets a copy before moving in
- each record is kept until two further checks have been done
- the next check is booked in time: a check done in the 2 months before the due date counts as done on the due date, so the date does not move (renewing early)
Where a tenant will not give access, HSE inspectors look for at least three attempts to do the check. HSE recommends leaving a note after each missed visit, writing to explain that the check is a legal requirement for the tenant’s safety, and keeping a record of all correspondence (when a tenant refuses access).
Gaps to check across a managed portfolio
- Contracts that say nothing. A management contract that does not name who arranges checks leaves room for the landlord and the agent to each assume the other has booked them.
- Appliances the tenant owns. HSE says the landlord is not responsible for an appliance the tenant brought, but is still responsible for parts of the installation and pipework that supply it.
- Communal boilers. Where a flat is heated by a boiler that belongs to the building owner, HSE says the landlord’s arrangements with the owner need to make sure that boiler is maintained and checked, with evidence of the checks available to the landlord and their engineer.
- Carbon monoxide alarms. These are a separate duty under separate rules. In England, landlords must fit a carbon monoxide alarm in any room used as living accommodation that has a fixed combustion appliance, other than a gas cooker, and repair or replace an alarm reported as faulty (the alarm rules).
One contractor for the portfolio
Neos Engineering carries out landlord gas safety checks for letting agents and landlords across all of London, for single lets and whole portfolios. A rented home is charged at the home rate: a certificate is from £110 + VAT (£132 inc VAT), per appliance. A boiler service and a certificate together for one boiler is from £200 + VAT (£240 inc VAT), and each extra gas appliance on the certificate is £110 + VAT (£132 inc VAT). The office contacts the tenant to agree a time, and the certificate comes back for the agent’s file. The letting agents page explains how the work is arranged, the gas safety certificate page has the prices in full, and the landlord rules in full cover the check itself.
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