When landlords talk about compliance this year, the conversation is all about new things: the PRS Database, the Ombudsman, Section 8, EPC C. But the oldest rules are still the ones councils enforce first and the ones that cost the most when they are missed. Gas safety, electrical safety and smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are where a missing document turns into a fine, a refused claim or an insurance problem. This edition is a straightforward guide to what you need, how often, who must get a copy, and what happens if you don’t have it. It also answers a point a reader made on our possession edition: before you worry about which Section 8 ground to use, check the paperwork that sits behind any claim.
Gas Safety
What: an annual gas safety check on every gas appliance and flue, carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
How often: every 12 months.
Who gets a copy: the tenant must receive a copy before they move in, or within 28 days of the check for an existing tenant.
Records: keep each certificate. A good habit is to book the next check a few weeks before the old one expires, so one slipped date doesn’t leave a gap.
Penalty: gas safety is a criminal matter. Failing to arrange the check can lead to prosecution, and guides describe the penalties as an unlimited fine and, in serious cases, up to six months in prison.
If you don’t supply any gas appliances, you have no gas certificate to produce, but you should still know whether there is a gas supply and who is responsible for it.
Electrical Safety (EICR)
What: an inspection and test of the fixed electrical installation by a qualified person, producing an Electrical Installation Condition Report.
How often: at least every five years, or sooner if the report says so.
Copies: to an existing tenant within 28 days of the inspection, to a new tenant before they move in, to a prospective tenant within 28 days of a request, and to the council within seven days of a request.
Remedial work: if the report requires repairs or further investigation, they must be completed within 28 days, or sooner if the report says. Within 28 days of completion you must give the tenant and council the report and written confirmation from the qualified person.
Re-letting: if you have a report that is less than five years old and shows no remedial work needed, you don’t need a new inspection before re-letting, but you must give the tenant the report.
Penalty: councils can impose a financial penalty of up to £40,000 for offences from 1 May 2026 (the earlier limit was £30,000). They can also arrange the work themselves and recover the cost from you.
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms
Smoke alarms: at least one on every storey used as living accommodation.
Carbon monoxide alarms: in any room with a fixed combustion appliance, such as a solid fuel stove. Gas cookers are excluded.
Testing: the alarms must be working at the start of each tenancy.
Penalty: a civil penalty of up to £5,000.
Larger houses in multiple occupation have extra fire safety duties, including fire alarms and extinguishers. If you let an HMO, check your local council’s requirements.
Why This Matters More in 2026
Three developments make the old paperwork more important:
Section 8 is now the only route to possession. The ground you choose gets the attention, but a missing or out-of-date certificate gives the tenant’s adviser something to argue. Some commercial guides say gas, deposit and information-sheet failures can block a Section 8 claim, but the sources I found don’t say which grounds are affected. Treat this as a risk, not a rule, and check before you serve.
The HHSRS has been rewritten. Electrical hazards, fire and explosions, and excess cold are all on the list of 21 hazards, and councils can now fine up to £7,000 per Category 1 hazard. A property with no valid EICR is more likely to have an unnoticed electrical hazard.
Councils are being told to enforce. If a tenant complains, the first question is usually “do you have the certificates?”
What to Do This Week
Make a one-page table for each property with the gas check date, EICR date, smoke and CO alarm check date and EPC date.
Diary the next due date for each and set a reminder one month earlier.
Check you can show proof of delivery of each certificate to the tenant, such as an email, a signed copy or a dated note.
Test every alarm at the start of each tenancy and note the date.
If the EICR has any C1 or C2 findings, check the 28-day deadline for fixing them.
Keep digital copies somewhere you can find them within minutes of a council request.
Bottom Line
The safety paperwork is unglamorous, cheap compared with the penalties, and it underpins every other part of compliance. A gas certificate costs tens of pounds and an EICR a few hundred, against fines that can reach £40,000 and claims that can be refused. Get the table done once, set the reminders, and the rest of the year gets easier.
Know a landlord who can’t find their last EICR? Forward this on.
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Next edition: Thursday 5 November, with another essential compliance update for UK landlords.
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