Gas Safety Certificates (CP12)

What does a landlord gas safety check cover?

A CP12 covers every gas appliance and flue the landlord provides: boiler, gas fire, gas hob and cooker, water heater, and the pipework and chimneys/flues that serve them. Each is checked for gas tightness, correct operating pressure, safe combustion, effective removal of combustion products, adequate ventilation and working safety devices, then recorded as passed or defective on the record.

A few boundary cases: appliances the tenant owns are not the landlord's to certify, but the pipework supplying them is, and we still flag anything visibly dangerous. A tightness test at the meter confirms the whole system holds pressure, and flues running through voids — common where boilers are boxed in — need inspection access; we will tell you if hatches are required.

What the check is not is a service: the CP12 confirms each appliance is safe to use on the day, but does not strip and clean the boiler. The two are natural partners — same engineer, same visit — but they are distinct things, and plenty of firms quietly sell one as the other.

What fails a landlord gas safety check?

The common failures are blocked or corroded flues, inadequate ventilation to a room containing an open-flued appliance, incorrect operating pressures, signs of poor combustion such as sooting or staining around a fire, unsafe pipework, and appliances installed or "repaired" by someone who was not Gas Safe registered. Defects are classified by seriousness, from at-risk through to immediately dangerous.

The classifications decide what happens next: an immediately dangerous appliance is, with permission, turned off and labelled, because leaving it running risks lives; at-risk appliances are turned off with advice not to use them until repaired; lesser defects are recorded with a clear note of what needs doing and when.

Two patterns dominate locally: older open-flued appliances in the Victorian and Edwardian stock around Surbiton, Kingston and Thames Ditton, where redecoration has blocked vents and chimneys have quietly deteriorated, and the handiwork of unregistered "gas engineers" that fails tightness testing a year later. Where a defect is found we quote in plain figures and, with your approval, repair the defect and issue the clean record — on the day where possible.

How much does a CP12 cost in Surrey?

A boiler-only CP12 costs £70–£90 with us, which covers most modern rentals where the boiler is the sole gas appliance. Each additional appliance — a gas hob, fire or water heater — adds a small supplement rather than doubling the bill, and the price quoted on the phone is the price on the invoice.

Two ways to make the number work harder: combine the CP12 with the annual boiler service — same engineer, same visit, one tenant disturbance, at a bundle price below the two jobs bought apart — and, for agents and multi-property landlords, portfolio rates: batch your renewals and the per-property price drops while the renewal diary becomes our problem instead of yours.

Be wary of the very cheap outliers: a CP12 at half the going rate is either a drive-by paperwork exercise or a loss-leader earning its money back through invented "urgent" defects. A proper check takes real time per appliance; we charge fairly for it and put our Gas Safe registration number on every record we sign.

What are my legal duties as a landlord?

Three core duties: have every gas appliance and flue you provide checked by a Gas Safe registered engineer every 12 months; give each tenant a copy of the record within 28 days — or before they move in, for a new tenancy; and keep each record for at least two years.

The penalties are not theoretical: non-compliance is a criminal matter that can bring unlimited fines and, in serious cases, imprisonment — and a missing record also undermines a landlord's position in possession proceedings, which is often the consequence that actually bites. For the cost of an annual check, it is an extraordinary risk to run.

Note the division of labour: the duty is the landlord's, though an agent can carry the admin if the management agreement says so — worth checking, because "I thought the agent handled it" is a useless defence. Where a tenant refuses access, we help you document every attempt, which is what shows you took all reasonable steps.

Can I combine the CP12 with a boiler service?

Yes, and for most landlords it is the obvious move: the same Gas Safe registered engineer does both in one visit, the bundle price is meaningfully below the two jobs bought separately, and the property is disturbed once a year instead of twice. One key collection, one tenant appointment, both documents issued the same day.

The two jobs complement each other: the CP12 asks whether the appliance is safe today; the service is maintenance — cleaning the burner and condensate trap, checking the expansion vessel and inhibitor level per BS 7593:2019, catching the wear that becomes next winter's breakdown. A rental boiler that gets both every year breaks down less and generates fewer of the emergency callouts that sour tenancies.

There is a warranty angle too: most newer boilers require annual servicing to keep the manufacturer's warranty, so a landlord buying only the CP12 may be quietly voiding cover on their most expensive appliance. Book the combined visit and the renewal reminders cover both — one date in the diary, handled by us.