As a letting agent, are you fully clued up on gas safety and CP12 certificates?
As an experienced heating engineer, I know that it’s so important for letting agents to know the full facts about gas safety – especially when dealing with properties of clients who are abroad or live across the country, as the responsibility then falls to you.
That’s why I’ve decided to cover all the basics letting agents need to know about gas safety and annual CP12 certificates.
What is a CP12 certificate?
A landlord’s safety certificate, or CP12, is a bit like your car’s MOT certificate. It means that at the date and time on the certificate, the relevant gas appliances were checked, tested and found to be in fully working order. If they were unsafe, they would fail the checks and be disconnected.
If there were any more minor issues that meant the appliances were not to current standards, they would be noted down as ‘defects’ on the certificate, with the recommendation to have them fixed as soon as possible.
A CP12 not only gives the tenant, landlord and letting agent the peace of mind that gas appliances are safe, it’s also the legal responsibility of the landlord or letting agent to ensure these checks are carried out every year.
Who organises the annual check?
If you’re like most letting agents, the responsibility of annual gas safety checks should be detailed in your contract with the property owner – this’ll really depend on the individual arrangements, so definitely check. In some cases, the responsibility may have to fall on the letting agent – such as if the owner is out of the country.
Many agents note in their diary a few weeks prior to when these checks are due, so that they can either chase up the landlord/property owner or schedule the checks in themselves (if it is their responsibility). It’s important that these checks are carried out in a timely manner, as it’s a legal requirement.
Some property owners will prefer to make their own arrangements, however many letting agents can be particularly strict about ensuring the paperwork is in on time, due to their legal obligations, and may want to chase this up.
In the past, I’ve had a few calls from bewildered agents who were told to contact us to carry out gas safety checks – on the instruction of the property owners who had since moved abroad and let the property. Despite us being given no reference or correspondence, it was eventually sorted out – however, this is how mistakes can occur.
What happens if a CP12 is due/overdue?
It’s always a good idea to put a clause in your contracts explaining that if the owner fails to arrange the annual gas safety/CP12 checks within a certain timeframe, the agent can go ahead and organise for this to be carried out on their behalf, before invoicing the owner for the work.
I highly recommend this course of action, mainly just to cover everyone’s backs and make sure that everything stays legal and above board. Explaining this keeps things simple, safe and streamlined, without having to worry about which property owners are doing what.
Despite this, you’ll find most landlords will be vigilant in carrying out these checks, which is a great help.
If a gas safety check is overdue, the best course of action is to call up a local Gas Safe registered heating engineer and ensure it is carried out immediately, with copies of the latest CP12 issued to the landlord and tenant – you can worry about invoicing the property owner later.
Have a couple of heating engineers on your books
The best advice I can give you here is to prepare for the worst, and build up a good working relationship with a couple of preferred contractors who will be on-hand to carry out these checks in the event that the property’s owner fails to do so – for whatever reason.
You’ll probably benefit from having a couple of trusted heating engineers you can rely on anyway, in the event of a boiler breakdown or other heating-related issues – and once you find a heating engineer who will provide quick call-outs at reasonable prices, and put you first, you’re onto a winner.
For more information on how to find the best heating engineer to issue a CP12 certificate, check out my blog ‘Landlords: Need a CP12 certificate? Here’s What to Look For’.
Conclusion
By now, you should have a better idea of the basics letting agents need to know about CP12 certificates, and what to do if one is due/overdue.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this post, but if you have any specific questions on this subject, please feel free to leave a comment below – I promise to answer!
