How Long Does a Gas Certificate Last?

The importance of gas in residential and commercial or business properties is undisputed. Gas has become an integral part of our life. You can't think of a home without gas. Its utility in our lives is unlimited. We need gas to heat our homes, cook our meals, and warm the water in kitchens and washrooms.

However, gas use risks are also evident from the increasing number of fire accidents worldwide. The potential threats associated with the gas include fire and explosions, whereas the possibility of emission of harmful gases such as carbon monoxide can also prove fatal.

Considering these potential risks, the concept of safety against gas-related accidents emerged, which resulted in the formulation of various rules and regulations in the UK. One of the basic features of these rules and regulations is the gas safety certificates.

Gas Safety Rules and Regulations

The UK Government introduced legislation in 1998 to regulate the use of gas in homes. The aim was to ensure the safety of people and properties while using gas. The responsibility of gas safety was put on the landlords through this legislation.

The law, commonly known as the “Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998”, makes it compulsory for landlords to check their properties for gas safety annually. It further binds the landlords to get this annual inspection done by a qualified and registered gas safety engineer.

The engineer must be registered with the "gas safe register," which is an organization that regulates the use of gas in the UK. Under the provisions of the law, the gas safety engineer is supposed to give you a gas certificate, commonly known as a gas safety certificate, gas safety record, or CP 12, once the gas safety check is done successfully.

Gas Safe Register

Gas safe register is an official organization working in the UK that regulates the use of gas. The gas safe register replaced the previous such body, CORGI, in 2009 and became the sole authority for gas registration in the UK. The gas safe register is responsible for registering the gas safety engineers by issuing them a license to work on gas appliances and installations.

Gas safe register maintains an official website and the credentials of all gas engineers registered by them are listed on it. They also issue an identity number to the registered gas safety engineers. These engineers are authorized to conduct annual gas safety checks on all residential properties. Only an engineer registered with a gas safe register can issue a gas safety certificate (CP12).

Landlord Gas Safety Certificate

The law binds the landlords to get a gas safety certificate for the properties they intend to rent out or have already rented out. The certificate is, therefore, also referred to as the Landlord Gas Safety Certificate or, more commonly, CP 12. It is also known as Gas Certificate.

Issuance of Gas Safety Certificate

Issuance of a gas safety certificate is subject to a registered gas safety engineer's successful completion of a gas safety check. This needs to be done on an annual basis. The gas certificate comprises the following basic information:

• Date of inspection
• Complete address of the property inspected by the engineer for gas safety
• Name of the landlord or his representative
• Name and identity number of the gas safety engineer who conducted the gas safety check
• Signature of the gas safety engineer

Apart from the above basic information about the engineer and the property, the following details are also given in the gas safety certificate.

• Complete details of gas appliances checked by the engineer, including boilers and flues.
• Location of each appliance.
• Current status of the appliances. This includes the operational performance of each appliance, whether fit for use or not.

The appliances rated as not fit for use are further categorized as under.

• ID – Immediately dangerous. Appliances marked as ID need repair or replacement, as the case may be, urgently.
• AR – At risk. The appliances rated as AR must be replaced urgently, as these are not fit for use.
• NCS – Not to the Current Standards. These appliances can be used safely, though they are not according to the current standards. However, these also need to be replaced with the new ones soon.

Once the annual gas safety check is done on all gas appliances and installations and necessary repair or replacement is done, the gas safety engineer will give you a landlord gas safety certificate within 48 hours. This is usually in digital form these days. You can, however, get it printed for safe storage.

The landlords are legally required to give a copy of this gas certificate to their current tenants within 48 hours of the gas safety check. The new tenants should be given a copy of this certificate within 28 days of entering into a lease contract.

How long does a gas safety certificate last?

The gas certificate is issued after a successful safety check on an annual basis. It means that the certificate will remain valid for one year or 12 months. Hence, it needs to be renewed annually.

Determination of Validity of Gas Certificate

Under the gas safety (installation and use) regulations in 1998, the landlords are required to get their property checked annually to get a gas safety certificate. Under the provisions of this law, the expiry date was supposed to be exactly 12 months after the certificate issuance date. It means that if a gas certificate was issued on 31st January 2022, it will remain valid till 30th January 2023.

So, the landlord was supposed to get it renewed before the expiry date. If the renewal was done on the 28th of December, 2023, the next expiry date would fall on the 27th of December, 2023. So, practically, the expiry date would keep changing every time and it would last for less than 12 months each time. Hence, the landlords might have to conduct the annual gas safety check 11 times in 10 years.

Amendment in Law to make the validity of gas certificates flexible

This ambiguity was removed under an amendment, which came into force in 2018. This amendment is known as the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) (Amendment) Regulations 2018. Under this amendment, section 36 was changed, providing flexibility in annual gas safety checks for landlords.

Under this amendment, the expiry date of the gas certificate would remain the same and will not be affected by the date of the actual date of the gas safety check. So, in the above-referred example, if the landlord conducts the annual gas safety check on 28th December 2023, the expiry date of the new certificate would become 31st January 2024, as opposed to 27th December 2023, per the provisions of the law before this amendment.

Hence, the landlords are now at liberty to get their property inspected for a gas safety check any time in the last two months of the currency of the existing gas certificate. And more importantly, the gas certificate will invariably remain valid for 12 months.

Conclusion

Gas safety check on all appliances is required by the landlords on an annual basis. This is necessary for getting a valid gas safety certificate. The gas safety certificate, therefore, remains valid for 12 months or one year. The landlords are also required to get this certificate renewed for another 12 months before it expires.

So, the gas certificate lasts for one year and needs renewal every time after getting the appliances checked for gas safety, annually. Landlords require gas safety checks to ensure the safety of their tenants and property against any possible risks of fire, explosions, and emission of harmful gases such as carbon monoxide.

So, make sure that your property is regularly checked on an annual basis for gas safety. It is your legal as well as moral responsibility. It may cost you a bit but it can save you from many serious consequences. And remember, the gas safety certificate remains valid for one year, so get it renewed before it expires.