What Certificates Do Landlords Need? Complete 2026 UK Checklist

Landlord compliance has grown into a long list of certificates, checks and paperwork, and the rules depend on the type of property you let. Missing just one can mean fines, invalid notices or, worse, a tenant put at risk.

This checklist pulls everything together. It explains which certificates are a legal requirement for every landlord, which apply only to certain properties, and which are good practice, with links to our detailed guides on each one.

Landlord certificates checklist at a glance

Legally required certificates for every landlord

1. Gas safety certificate (CP12)

If your property has any gas appliances, pipework or flues that you provide, the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 require a gas safety check by a Gas Safe registered engineer at least every 12 months. You must give tenants a copy within 28 days of the check and new tenants a copy before they move in. Failing to do so is a criminal offence.

Read more in our guide: What is a CP12 certificate?

2. Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)

Under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, the fixed electrical installation must be inspected and tested by a qualified person at least every five years. Tenants must receive a copy within 28 days, and any C1, C2 or FI items must be fixed within 28 days. Councils can impose penalties of up to £30,000.

Read more: EICR codes C1, C2, C3 and FI explained

3. Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)

You need a valid EPC before marketing a property to let, and you must give tenants a copy free of charge. Under the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard, privately rented homes must be rated E or above unless a valid exemption is registered. An EPC lasts 10 years.

Read more: What is an EPC certificate?

4. Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms

Since 1 October 2022, landlords must fit at least one smoke alarm on every storey used as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance such as a gas boiler or wood burner (gas cookers are excluded). Alarms must be checked on the first day of every new tenancy. Councils can impose penalties of up to £5,000.

Read more: Do I need a fire safety certificate?

5. Legionella risk assessment

Landlords have a legal duty to assess and control the risk of exposure to Legionella bacteria in the water system. The Health and Safety Executive does not require a certificate, and for most simple homes the assessment can be straightforward, but you should keep a record. Larger properties, HMOs and buildings with stored hot and cold water usually benefit from a professional legionella risk assessment.

Extra certificates for HMOs and blocks of flats

Houses in multiple occupation and buildings with shared areas carry higher fire risks, so they come with additional duties:

• Fire risk assessment: required under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 for HMOs and the common parts of multi-occupied buildings, and it must be recorded in full.
• Fire alarm system: HMOs usually need an interlinked or mains-wired fire alarm system, serviced regularly.
• Emergency lighting: often required on escape routes, with monthly and annual tests recorded in a log book. See our emergency lighting testing guide.
• Fire doors: in buildings over 11 metres, communal fire doors must be checked every three months and flat entrance doors every year. Many HMO licences also require fire door checks.
• PAT testing: often a condition of HMO licences, especially where landlords supply kitchen appliances.
• Asbestos: in buildings built before 2000, the duty to manage asbestos applies to the common parts.

Property licensing in London

Many London boroughs run licensing schemes that add their own conditions, often requiring copies of your gas, electrical and fire safety certificates with the application:

• Mandatory HMO licensing applies across England to HMOs with five or more people forming two or more households.
• Additional HMO licensing covers smaller HMOs in some boroughs.
• Selective licensing covers ordinary single-household lets in designated areas.

Rules vary by borough, so always check with your council. We cover landlords across east London, including Barking & Dagenham, Newham, Redbridge, Havering and Waltham Forest.

Good-practice checks every landlord should consider

Some checks are not legally required for every property but make strong evidence that you are keeping tenants safe:

• PAT testing of appliances you supply, usually at each new tenancy or once a year. Read PAT testing for landlords.
• Annual boiler service alongside the gas safety check, to reduce breakdowns and failures.
• Fire safety inspection of alarms, fire doors and fire equipment, giving you dated evidence on file. Our fire safety certificate covers this.
• Fire extinguisher servicing where extinguishers are provided. See our fire extinguisher service.

Other legal paperwork for landlords

Alongside safety certificates, landlords in England also have tenancy duties that are not certificates but are just as important:

• Deposit protection: protect the tenant’s deposit in a government-approved scheme and give them the prescribed information within 30 days.
• Right to Rent checks: check that adult occupiers have the right to rent in England before the tenancy starts.
• Renters’ Rights Act changes: new requirements for landlords, such as written tenancy information, a landlord database and an ombudsman scheme, are being introduced in stages. See our Renters’ Rights Act guide for the dates, council powers and fines.

Certificate renewal calendar

The simplest way to stay compliant is to track every expiry date in one place. A typical renewal cycle looks like this:

Remember you can renew a gas safety certificate up to two months early and keep the original expiry date.

Keeping your certificates organised

Store digital copies of every certificate in one folder per property, along with proof that tenants received them, such as an email or a signed receipt. Set calendar reminders at least six weeks before each expiry date, so you have time to book an engineer and arrange access. If you use a letting agent, agree in writing who is responsible for arranging each certificate, because the legal duty usually stays with the landlord.

Penalties for missing landlord certificates

How much do landlord certificates cost?

For a typical one to three bedroom London flat with a gas boiler and hob, the core legal certificates from Landlord Sure cost:

The gas certificate is renewed yearly, while the EICR lasts up to five years and the EPC ten, so the annual cost is much lower than the first-year total. You can book all of them together in one visit.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: GOV.UK – Your landlord’s safety responsibilities; HSE – Gas safety for landlords; GOV.UK – Electrical safety standards guide for landlords; HSE – Legionella and landlords. Information checked October 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice.