Do You Need a Gas Safety Certificate When Selling a House?

If you’re selling your house, you’ll no doubt have a million and one questions and we’d hazard a guess that at least one of them is about gas safety.

We’re here to help you with everything you need to know about gas safety certificates, what you do and don’t need as a seller and how you might be able to sell without a certificate at all.

It can be a stressful experience to sell a house—there are countless details to manage and a long list of essential documents to gather, including proof of identity, Title Deeds, an EPC, a gas safety certificate…the list goes on.

If you’re a seller and you have no gas safety certificate, don’t panic. This guide should help answer a few of your questions to put your mind at ease, so let’s dive in.

Table of Contents

• What is a gas safety certificate?

• Why would I need a gas safety certificate?

• Who can issue a gas safety certificate?

• Who pays for a gas safety certificate?

• I’m a homeowner—do I legally need to provide buyers with a gas safety certificate?

• What about a boiler certificate? Do I need that if I’m selling a house?

• Which certificates do I need to sell a house?

• So, can I sell a house without a gas safety certificate?

• FAQs

What is a gas safety certificate?

A gas safety certificate, which is also known as a landlord’s gas safety check, is a document that proves the safety of gas appliances in a property in the UK. It is required by law for all properties that contain gas appliances and are rented out as accommodation by landlords.

Gas safety certificates are monitored and regulated by The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, which require all gas appliances to be checked on a yearly basis.

Why would I need a gas safety certificate?

A gas safety certificate is issued to prove that work has been carried out on a property to prevent its occupants from exposure to two potentially deadly problems:

Gas leaks

Gas leaks can lead to your property suffering a major problem, such as an explosion or a fire. In order to prevent this, a gas engineer will inspect the pipework around your property and conduct a tightness test on the connections.

All gas safe appliances are built to burn gas in a safe and controlled way, but owners are advised to ensure that these are checked annually to avoid any faults that might lead to gas leaks.

Carbon monoxide poisoning

Carbon monoxide is a highly dangerous gas, as you can’t see, taste or smell it—and it has deadly consequences. A gas safety engineer will carry out an inspection to ensure there’s no carbon monoxide in the pipes at your house to keep you and the property safe.

As you’ve probably guessed by now, it’s very important to get annual gas safety inspections on your house. Another thing that you can do, alongside this yearly inspection, is to fit a carbon monoxide detector to make sure you’re keeping yourself safe at all times.

Who can issue a gas safety certificate?

Legally, the only people who can carry out such inspections and issue a gas safety certificate are registered gas safety engineers. Any gas safety engineer carrying out work on your house must be a member of a company recognised by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

If you’re unsure whether or not someone has been certified, head to the Gas Safe Register—it has a list of names certified by the regulatory body and you can search for it there.

If you’ve had a gas safety certificate issued by someone who isn’t on the register, you may want to get a new one from someone who is listed, just to make sure it complies with all laws and regulations.

Who pays for a gas safety certificate?

A gas safety certificate will need to be paid for by the person who owns the gas appliances. If you’re a homeowner and you have your own appliances, that’ll be you (sorry). If you’re renting a property, it will likely be your landlord who will pay for the gas safety certificate, as they will be the owner of the gas appliances in the property.

It’s a legal requirement for landlords to provide tenants with proof of gas safety checks in the UK—they must give them a copy of the gas safety certificate before they move in and can’t get away with promising one at a later date. If they fail to provide a legitimate gas safety certificate, tenants are within their rights to complain to the HSE and landlords are liable to go to prison for up to six months and face large fines, too.

I’m a homeowner—do I legally need to provide buyers with a gas safety certificate? 

This may come as a surprise to you in light of the above, but it’s not actually a legal requirement for you to provide a buyer with a gas safety certificate if you sell your home, whether it’s through an estate agent, via an auction or to a cash buyer.

If you’re renting out your property or considering it, though, you will be legally required to provide this certificate and make sure you keep up with the checks annually as the official landlord.

While the certificate isn’t a legal requirement for selling, it is something that buyers will likely want to have and may look for when buying a house—and who can blame them? All you’ll need to do in this situation is call out an engineer to perform the necessary checks (remember, make sure they’re on the Gas Safe Register) and ask them for a certificate as proof.

What if a buyer discovers gas safety issues after completion?

If a buyer discovers gas safety issues like leaks after they’ve purchased a house, they may have legal recourse against the seller if it was a pre-existing issue and may go to The Property Ombudsman to settle the dispute. Of course, this presents problems with proving the existence of a leak before the keys were handed over, so it’s a risk to be aware of as a seller. 

If you don’t want to get a gas safety certificate or you don’t have the time, at least make sure you have the conversation, get the OK from the buyer and document everything so it’s clear that both parties were in agreement and on the same page before the sale.

Can a buyer request a gas safety inspection before exchange?

Indeed, buyers have every right to ask for a gas safety check before they buy your house, but, as we said, you’re not legally obliged to carry one out. It’s entirely up to you to decide on a course of action if your buyer requests a certificate and you don’t have one.

Of course, it has the potential to slow a house sale down, as

It’s not always possible to get ‘sale ready’ if you need a quick resolution, though, which is why we won’t ask you for a gas safety certificate at The Property Buying Company. We’re a cash buyer and we can complete within days, not months, so it’s an option that can save you a lot of hassle (and money).

What about a boiler certificate? Do I need that if I’m selling a house?

A boiler certificate is sometimes confused with a gas safety certificate, but it’s important to know the difference as a homeowner, especially if you’re looking to sell. 

What’s known as a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate is issued when a gas-based appliance like a boiler is installed at a property and the engineer notifies the Gas Safe Register. Homeowners can expect to receive the certificate in the post shortly after the installation is complete. A gas safety certificate is a separate document, which you tend to receive after each annual service of a boiler or check of gasworks at your house.

Can I sell a house without a boiler certificate?

In short, no, it’s impossible to sell a house in any circumstance without the Building Regulations Compliance Certificate because there’s no proof the boiler was installed in a safe and professional manner by a Gas Safe engineer.

If you have had this certificate but have lost it, then don’t worry. You can pay for a new one from the records at the Gas Safe Register—click here to find out more about ordering a replacement.

Which certificates do I need to sell a house?

OK, so, it can be a little confusing to get your head around everything you need in the way of documentation to sell a house. Here’s a quick rundown of the documents you definitely need to be able to sell your property to any kind of buyer: 

The government provides some very helpful advice for homeowners looking to sell a home here if you need more guidance.

So, can I sell a house without a gas safety certificate?

To recap, by law, you don’t actually need to have a gas safety certificate to sell your house, but that doesn’t mean that certain prospective buyers won’t ask for one.

You can legally try to sell your house on the open market without a gas safety certificate, but expect a question or two from extra inquisitive buyers (or their solicitors). Some might be put off, others won’t—cash buyers are often more interested in a quick sale and won’t need to ask for the certificate, so this can be a good way to go if you don’t want to fork out for one.

FAQs