The landlord's mid-year gas-safety review: a 15-minute audit
By Jordan Valentine-Dunn, Gas Safe registered engineer · 9 July 2026
A landlord's mid-year gas safety review takes about 15 minutes. List every let property, check each one's next-due date rather than the date of the last check, confirm every tenant has their latest gas safety record, and book anything due in the next two months before engineers' autumn diaries fill up.
Why review gas safety in the middle of the year?
Because renewal dates drift, and the reminder you are relying on is often the letting agent's, the engineer's or your own memory, none of which is foolproof. July gives you slack: anything due before autumn can still be booked at your convenience, whereas the landlords who wait until the month a record is due are the ones who find every local engineer booked solid in October. Fifteen minutes now is the cheap version of that problem.
What does the 15-minute audit look like?
List every property with a gas appliance
Anything you let that has a boiler, fire, hob or other gas appliance you are responsible for. Include the empty ones; the duty does not pause during a void.
Check the next-due date, not the last check
For each property, what date is the record due to be renewed? That is the number to track. 'We had it done last autumn' is how lapses start.
Confirm the tenant has their copy
Existing tenants are owed the latest record within 28 days of each check; a new tenant must have it before they move in. If you cannot show it was delivered, treat it as not delivered and send it again.
Book what's due in the next two months
Anything due before the autumn goes in the diary now, and nearby properties get batched into one visit where you can.
Put the records where you can find them
You must keep them for at least two years. Store them somewhere searchable, so you can prove compliance in seconds rather than hunting through a drawer.
What should you check on each property?
- Is the gas safety record still in date, with the next-due date noted?
- Has the current tenant actually received their copy?
- Was any remedial work from the last check completed and evidenced?
- Are the carbon monoxide alarms working, and air vents clear and unblocked?
- Has the boiler been serviced, separately from the safety check, if you offer that?
Can you renew early without moving your date?
Yes, and it is the most useful quirk in the rules. You can bring a check forward by up to two months, any time from 10 months after the last one, and keep your original renewal date. So if the review turns up a record due in September, an August check keeps your anniversary exactly where it was rather than dragging it earlier, and gets you in ahead of the autumn rush at the same time.
What if the review turns up a problem?
Deal with it in order of severity. A record that has already lapsed means booking a Gas Safe registered engineer as soon as possible; there is no grace period, and the gap does not close by waiting for the old anniversary. A tenant without their copy is a five-minute fix: send it now, keep the proof. Remedial work from the last check that was never evidenced needs chasing with whoever did it. None of these improves with age, which is the whole point of looking in July rather than finding out in November.
This is general guidance, not legal advice for a particular tenancy. The check itself must be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer, who is the only person who can issue a valid gas safety record.