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Gas safety certificates in Cambridge student lets
A landlord gas safety certificate for a student let needs a Gas Safe engineer to check each appliance and flue every 12 months. Tenants get a copy within 28 days, and new tenants before they move in.
Most useful for: Landlords, agents and students renting in Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire
Compiled from the sources at the end. Updated .
The document people call a certificate is a gas safety record, and the rule behind it is regulation 36 of the Gas Safety Regulations 1998. In a student house the awkward part is timing, because tenants often change over each summer while the check runs on its own 12-month clock. Older terraces add a second question: what the check does not look at.
What does the law ask of the landlord?
Each appliance and flue must be checked within 12 months of installation, and then at intervals of no more than 12 months. A check also has to be in place before a new lease starts. The engineer must be Gas Safe registered, and HSE warns that penalties can be a substantial fine, custody or both.
| When | What happens | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Within 12 months of installation | First check of the appliance and flue | Landlord books, Gas Safe engineer checks |
| No more than 12 months later | Next check | Landlord books, Gas Safe engineer checks |
| Up to 2 months before the due date | An early check keeps the original date | Landlord |
| Within 28 days of the check | Copy to existing tenants | Landlord or agent |
| Before move-in | Copy to new tenants | Landlord or agent |
| Afterwards | Keep the record at least until two further checks have been done (HSE's shorthand: 2 years) | Landlord or agent |
How does a summer changeover affect the dates?
The record has to reach new tenants before they move in, so it needs to be ready before keys change hands. The 2-month allowance helps here. A check due at the end of September and carried out in August keeps its September date, which stops the renewal date creeping earlier each year.
Electronic records are allowed, with conditions set out by HSE. Check those conditions before relying on email alone. In a shared house, each existing tenant needs a copy, not only the one who deals with the agent.
What does the check not cover in an old terrace?
Cambridge City Council says the annual check does not cover pipework, though government recommends that it is checked. That matters in a house that has been altered several times, where gas pipes may run behind later boxing and kitchens. Ask the engineer to quote for it, and keep that record alongside the certificate.
Other duties sit next to this one. Alarm rules are separate, and so is keeping heating and hot water working. If the house has five or more sharers in two or more households, it also needs a licence.
Cambridge publishes a PRS Housing Standard and standards for college properties. Read the one that fits the house, since this page deals only with the gas record.
Student or tenant: what should you look for?
Ask for your copy if you have not seen one, and check that the date falls within the last 12 months. If an engineer comes to the house, the ID card has a photo, registration number and expiry on the front and work categories on the back, and the Gas Safe checks page explains how to read it. The Register's line is 0800 408 5500, and HSE's gas safety advice line is 0800 300 363.
Warning signs from HSE include yellow or orange flames (except fuel-effect fires), soot or staining, pilot lights going out and extra condensation. Tell the landlord at once, and do not open the boiler casing or adjust anything on it.
Smell gas: no switches, no flames, open doors and windows, get out, and call 0800 111 999 from outside. Alarm or suspected carbon monoxide: everyone out, then the same number from outside. Anyone with symptoms should ring NHS 111, or 999 if struggling to breathe, suddenly confused or unconscious. Nobody goes back in until told it is safe. See what to do.
Who does what
- Booking the check on time
- The landlord, or an agent acting for them
- Checking appliances and flues
- A Gas Safe registered engineer
- Giving copies to tenants
- The landlord, or an agent acting for them
- Keeping past records
- The landlord, or an agent acting for them
- Reporting faults and letting the engineer in
- Tenants, with agreed access
Other questions on this
Does the record prove the house is safe until next year?
It records a check at one point in time. HSE says a carbon monoxide alarm is not a substitute for servicing, and neither takes the place of reporting a fault when you see one.
I live in halls or a college room. Does all of this apply?
The alarm regulations do not apply to student halls of residence, HSE notes. Ask the hall or college who holds the gas records for your building. Cambridge City Council also publishes standards for college properties.
Can a plumber who is not Gas Safe registered do the check?
No. Only a Gas Safe registered engineer can do it. Check the categories on the back of the card match the appliances in the house.
What if a new boiler goes in mid-year?
Its own clock starts at installation, with a first check within 12 months. A new or replacement appliance also brings a carbon monoxide alarm in that room under Approved Document J.
Sources, read 4 November 2026: Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 36; HSE: landlord gas questions; HSE: students and gas appliances; HSE: Gas Safe Register; HSE: carbon monoxide; HSE: domestic gas questions; Cambridge City Council: gas safety in private rented accommodation; Cambridge City Council: guide for landlords; NHS: carbon monoxide poisoning; Approved Document J.