When does my Gas Safety Certificate need renewing?

If you let a property in the UK with any gas appliance (boiler, gas hob, gas fire, gas water heater), you need a Gas Safety Certificate (sometimes called a CP12). The question every landlord asks is: when does it run out?

The short answer

12 months from the date of issue. Not the calendar year, not the month you first got it — the exact date. If your certificate is dated 14 March 2026, it expires on 14 March 2027.

You must have a valid certificate:

• at the start of every new tenancy, and
• throughout the tenancy, with a fresh certificate obtained at least 12 months after the previous one.

The legal basis

The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 require landlords to maintain gas appliances and have them checked annually by a Gas Safe registered engineer. The engineer issues a record (the "Gas Safety Record" — the term "CP12" is the old CORGI form number, still widely used informally).

What happens if I miss the renewal?

Three things, in order of likelihood:

1. Your landlord insurance is invalidated. Most policies require a current Gas Safety Certificate as a condition of cover. If a gas leak causes damage and your certificate is out of date, your insurer can refuse to pay.
2. Your tenant can complain to the local council. The council can issue a Hazard Awareness Notice or, in serious cases, do the work themselves and bill you.
3. You can be fined up to £6,000 per breach and, in criminal cases, imprisoned for up to 6 months.

The practical problem

The problem isn't the rule — it's the 12-month cycle. It's easy to remember when you get the certificate; harder to remember 11 months later when you should be booking the next inspection. Most landlords we surveyed said the same thing: "I know it's due around now but I can't remember the exact date."

Gas Safe engineers are typically booked 2–3 weeks in advance. If your certificate expires on 14 March and you call on 1 March, you might not get an appointment before the deadline. Most engineers also charge a premium for emergency callouts.

A simple system: the 60 / 30 / 7 reminder

What works is three reminders, not one:

• 60 days out — book the appointment. Most engineers are available.
• 30 days out — if you haven't booked, do it now. Some popular engineers are already 4+ weeks out.
• 7 days out — last call. If your appointment isn't already booked, you'll be paying a premium or accepting a gap in cover.

The day after expiry, the certificate is invalid and your insurance position is exposed.

How ComplianceTrack handles this

When you add a property and log a Gas Safety Certificate, we calculate the expiry date (last completed + 12 months) and watch it for you. We email you at the 60, 30 and 7-day thresholds. We deduplicate, so you never get the same reminder twice.

We also store the PDF of the certificate against the property, so when a tenant asks "can I see the Gas Safety Certificate?" (which they have a right to within 28 days of every annual check), you can email it to them in two clicks.

We don't issue certificates — you still need a Gas Safe registered engineer. We just make sure you remember to book one.

A note on wording

You'll see "CP12" and "Gas Safety Certificate" used interchangeably. "CP12" is the legacy form number from the CORGI era (CORGI was replaced by Gas Safe Register in 2009). The current official term is "Gas Safety Record". The legal requirement is the same regardless of what you call it.