Do I Need a Gas Safe Certificate to Sell My House?

Every home uses gas for heating and cooking these days. There would hardly be any home in the UK without gas. The gas and gas appliances, including a gas boiler, are a must-have item in all residential properties.

As a landlord, it is your prime responsibility to ensure the safety of your tenants, for which you have to get your property checked for gas safety every year. This gas safety inspection is required to be conducted on every gas appliance installed in the building, including flues and boilers. That's quite simple when it comes to renting out your property. But what to do if you need to sell your house?

Selling or buying a property is a legal matter involving enormous paperwork. Apart from some legal documents, you may also need various certificates before you venture to sell your house. Most of these certificates are related to the safety of people and property. One of the most important and relevant questions here might be whether you need a gas certificate for selling your property.

Gas Safety and Gas Certificate

Gas is a significant energy source for domestic properties. Despite being an economical and efficient energy source, gas has some inbuilt risks. The most common threat is its ability to catch fire when exposed to a flame or electric spark. Additionally, it can also cause the generation of harmful gases like carbon monoxide.

Hence, it is important to adopt various measures to ensure the safety of people against any such risk associated with the use of gas. The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, along with subsequent amendments, known as the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) (Amendment) Regulations 2018, are the basic rules and regulations that provide guidelines for gas safety in domestic properties. The prevailing laws in the UK bind a landlord to check all gas appliances for gas safety annually and obtain a gas-safe certificate.

This certificate remains effective for 12 months. So, you will need to get it renewed on an annual basis before its expiry. As a landlord, you are responsible for giving your tenants a copy of this certificate within 48 hours after conducting the required annual gas safety check. But if you are planning to sell your house, the requirements are pretty different.

Legal Requirements for Selling a Property

The prevailing Building Regulations require the landlords in the UK to inform the local authorities when any heat-generating appliances are installed in their properties. Based on this information, the authorities issue a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate for that property.

As a landlord, you are required to give this certificate to the buyer of your property. That means the Building Regulations Compliance Certificate is the primary document related to gas safety while selling a property. But it should never be confused with the gas safety certificate. It is entirely a different document.

What Certificates Do You Need When Selling a House?

As discussed above, selling a property involves so many legal documents. Under the relevant laws' provisions, landlords must present various certificates and documents when selling their properties. Let's look at what documents you may need when selling your house:

• Your Identity as a Seller – You first need proof of your identity and address. It is an essential requirement for the prevention of money laundering. It may be any document like your driver’s license, passport, or any other document that may prove your address and identity.
• Your ownership – You must produce a legal document proving your ownership of the property you plan to sell. A land registry should normally be sufficient to prove that you are the rightful owner of the property. The documents showing the remaining lease period will be required if the property is leasehold.
• Energy Performance Certificate – The Energy Performance Certificate, commonly known as EPC, shows your property's energy performance index. You will have to produce this certificate while selling your property.
• Building Regulations Certificate for Electric Work – For properties where any change or alternation in electric work was done after 2005, a Building Regulations Certificate for Electrical Work is required for selling the property.
• Planning Permissions – A planning permission Certificate will be required if you have made any alterations to your property.
• Gas Safety Certificate – A gas safety certificate, especially when a boiler is installed, is strongly recommended, which is proof that the property is checked and approved as a gas-safe property by a registered gas safety engineer.

Do you need a gas-safe certificate to sell your house?

While it's clear that you must have a valid gas safety certificate for your rented property, the scenario is different when it comes to selling that property. Do you need a gas-safe certificate to sell your house? is a much-asked question. The simple answer to this important question is No, you are not required to have one as per the prevailing laws in the UK.

Another related question is whether you need a gas-safe certificate to sell your house if a boiler is installed on that property. Again, the answer is the same: You have no legal obligation to produce a gas safety certificate while selling your house. But getting a gas safety certificate for the safety of your property and the people living in it is strongly recommended when selling it. It's more like a moral responsibility than a legal requirement.

Importance of Having a Gas Safety Certificate While Selling a House?

Though it is not a legal requirement to have a gas-safe certificate to sell a house, you are strongly recommended to have one. Let's see why:

• A gas safety Certificate proves that your property and the gas appliances installed on it are regularly checked for gas safety annually by a registered gas-safe engineer.
• It also proves that the boiler installed on the property is checked for gas safety.
• This document also proves that you comply with the prevailing rules and regulations.
• This certificate proves that you are a safety-conscious person and give weightage to the safety of people and properties.
• It will save you from any possible consequences in case of any gas-related mishap that may occur once you have sold the property.

Conclusion

The safety of people is the prime concern of authorities all over the world, including the UK. Safety against possible gas-related risks and threats is a part of it. The relevant rules and regulations bind the landlords to check their properties for gas safety yearly for all the rented properties.

However, if you plan to sell your property, you are not legally required to give a gas safety certificate to the buyers. However, it is very much advisable to have a gas safety certificate for the property you will sell. If you already have one, that's fine. But if you don't have one, getting one is recommended before starting your house's sale process. It is in your interest as a responsible citizen.