Maintenance - gas appliances and flues

You must ensure that gas appliances and flues are maintained in a safe condition and that regular gas safety checks are completed. The requirement for landlords to provide domestic gas maintenance is distinct from the requirement for keeping gas safety records.

For more information see Regulation (36)(2) of the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998

• What needs to be maintained?
• What’s not covered?
• Access to the property
• How often should the appliance or flue be serviced?
• Between tenancies
• Who can do the maintenance?
• What records do I need to keep?
• Who is responsible for repairs?
• Who pays for repairs as a result of tenant damage?

What needs to be maintained?

Any gas appliance or flue installed in the premises. This includes any appliances or flues serving the premises (such as central heating boilers not installed in tenants’ accommodation but used to heat them).

What’s not covered?

Appliances owned by the tenant; flues or chimneys solely connected to an appliance owned by the tenant.

Access to the property

The contract you make with your tenant should allow you access for any maintenance or safety check work that needs to be done. You must not use force to enter the property.

A landlord has to show that they took all reasonable steps to comply with the law. HSE recommends the following best practice in these circumstances and strongly advises that a record be kept of all correspondence with the tenants:

• leave the tenant a notice stating that an attempt was made to complete the gas safety check and provide your contact details;
• write to the tenant explaining that a safety check is a legal requirement and that it is for the tenants own safety. Give the tenant the opportunity to arrange their own appointment;
• HSE inspectors will look for repeated attempts to complete the gas safety check, including the above suggestions; however the approach will need to be appropriate to each circumstance. It would ultimately be for a court to decide if the action taken was reasonable depending upon the individual circumstances.

How often should the appliance or flue be serviced?

Gas appliances and flues should be serviced in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. If these are not available, we recommend that they are serviced annually, unless your Gas Safe registered engineer advises you otherwise.

Between tenancies

Before you re-let a property, you need to ensure that all appliances and flues are safe and have an up-to-date gas safety check record. When tenants vacate your premises, it is good practice to ask your engineer to inspect and test the pipework.

Who can do the maintenance?

All maintenance checks and repairs must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

What records do I need to keep?

There are no formal requirements for you to keep maintenance records. But you will need to be able to show, if asked, that you have regularly maintained the flues and appliances and completed required repairs. You do not have to provide records for tenants.

Who is responsible for repairs?

Landlords are responsible for repairs required as a result of general wear and tear.

Who pays for repairs as a result of tenant damage?

Your tenancy agreement should make it clear who is responsible for repairs if a tenant causes damage to appliances or flues.

Nominate the work of your Gas Safe Engineer for inspection

Find out more

Landlords and gas safety FAQs