London Landlord Safety Certificates: The 2026 Compliance Checklist

What safety certificates does a London landlord need in 2026?

Every landlord letting a home in London needs four things as a baseline: a gas safety record renewed every 12 months where there is a gas supply, an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) at least every 5 years, a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rated E or above, and working smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms that are checked on the first day of every tenancy.

On top of that baseline, a house in multiple occupation (HMO) normally needs a fire risk assessment, fire alarm and emergency lighting certificates and a licence from the borough. Every landlord should hold a proportionate legionella risk assessment, and whoever controls the common parts of a block or converted house needs a fire risk assessment for those areas. From 2027, London landlords must also upload their gas, electrical and EPC documents to the new Private Rented Sector Database.

This checklist reflects the law in England as at October 2026, with the legal basis, frequency and penalty for each item, a 12-month renewal plan and the documents tenants must receive.

Which certificates are on the master checklist?

The table below is the full list for London rentals. Prices are BritCertify starting prices inc. VAT; which rows apply depends on how the property is let and what it contains.

There is no single legal ‘fire safety certificate’ for most rented homes: compliance is shown through the fire risk assessment plus servicing certificates for alarms, emergency lighting, extinguishers and fire doors. All prices are ‘from’ prices. Central London parking or Congestion Charge may be added; we always confirm before booking.

How often do landlords need a gas safety certificate?

Every 12 months. Regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 requires landlords to have every gas appliance, fitting and flue they provide checked for safety by a Gas Safe registered engineer at least once a year.

Keep each gas safety record, often called a CP12, for at least 2 years. Gas cookers are included on the record, even though they are excluded from the CO alarm rules. Since April 2018, a check carried out up to 2 months before the deadline can keep the original expiry date, so booking in month 10 or 11 loses nothing from the cycle.

Gas work is carried out by Gas Safe registered engineers (Gas Safe reg. 962998). Always ask to see the engineer’s Gas Safe ID card, or check the Gas Safe Register. Our gas safety certificate starts at £75 inc. VAT for 1–2 appliances, with the record emailed the same day.

When does a rented home need a new EICR?

At least every 5 years, or sooner if the previous report recommends it. The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 have applied to all tenancies since 1 April 2021 and require inspection and testing by a qualified and competent person.

If the report is unsatisfactory, remedial work or further investigation must be completed within 28 days, or sooner if the report says so, and written confirmation must reach tenants and the local authority within 28 days of completion. Councils can impose penalties of up to £30,000 per breach. Our guide to EICR codes C1, C2, C3 and FI explains what must be fixed.

Electrical inspections are carried out by NICEIC / NAPIT registered electricians, qualified to BS 7671. A domestic EICR costs from £79 inc. VAT for a studio and £99 for 1–2 bedrooms, with the report usually issued within 24–48 hours.

What EPC rating does a rental property need?

Band E or above today, and band C for all tenancies from 1 October 2030. The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 require at least band E unless a valid exemption is registered. A domestic EPC is valid for 10 years and must be given to prospective tenants.

The band C standard, confirmed in January 2026, comes with a landlord cost cap of £10,000 per property, or 10% of the property’s value if lower, and legislation is targeted for 2027. New-format EPCs and the Home Energy Model will now launch in the second half of 2027, and existing EPCs remain valid for their full 10-year term. EPCs are produced by accredited Domestic/Non-Domestic Energy Assessors (Elmhurst / Stroma accreditation schemes), from £89 inc. VAT for 1–3 bedrooms.

What are the smoke and carbon monoxide alarm rules?

Since 1 October 2022, the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 have required private and social landlords to fit at least one smoke alarm on every storey with a room used wholly or partly as living accommodation.

A CO alarm is required in any room used as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance, such as a gas boiler or wood-burning stove; gas cookers are excluded. Alarms must be checked as working on the first day of each new tenancy and repaired or replaced once reported faulty. Councils can impose a penalty of up to £5,000. Keep evidence of the day-one test, such as a signed check-in record.

What extra certificates does an HMO in London need?

An HMO needs everything a single let needs, plus fire safety documentation and usually a licence. Mandatory HMO licensing applies where 5 or more people forming 2 or more households share the property, and many London boroughs also run additional or selective licensing schemes.

HMO licences in London commonly require a satisfactory EICR and annual gas and alarm certificates, so always check your borough’s licence conditions. A typical HMO compliance file also includes:

• Fire risk assessment: required for the common parts under the Fire Safety Order 2005. Councils benchmark HMO fire safety against the LACORS Housing Fire Safety guidance (2008).
• Fire alarm certificate: most HMOs have a BS 5839-6 system described by a Grade and Category, such as Grade D1, LD2. Larger BS 5839-1:2025 systems are typically serviced every 6 months.
• Emergency lighting certificate: where fitted, BS 5266-1:2025 calls for a monthly short functional test and an annual full rated-duration test, typically 3 hours, with results logged.
• Management duties: the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006 require the manager to keep fire alarms and escape routes maintained.

In converted Victorian houses let as HMOs, our assessors often find that the fire alarm works but the servicing records are incomplete, or that a refurbished room has lost its fire-resisting door. Our HMO fire risk assessment starts at £149 inc. VAT for 1–2 bedrooms. Fire risk assessments are carried out by NEBOSH-qualified fire risk assessors.

Do landlords need a legionella risk assessment?

Yes. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH), landlords must assess and control the risk of tenants being exposed to Legionella. HSE’s Approved Code of Practice L8 and guidance HSG274 explain how.

There is no legal ‘legionella certificate’. The expected evidence is a proportionate, written risk assessment, reviewed regularly and whenever something changes. Homes with stored hot water, cold water tanks or rarely used outlets need closer attention than a flat heated by a combination boiler.

Who needs a fire risk assessment for the common parts?

The ‘responsible person’ for the shared areas does. Under the Fire Safety Order 2005, the communal parts of blocks of flats and HMOs are non-domestic premises, so whoever controls them, whether a freeholder, right-to-manage company, managing agent or the landlord of a converted house with a shared hallway, must carry out and regularly review a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment.

The Fire Safety Act 2021 clarified that this covers the structure, external walls and flat entrance doors. Since 1 October 2023, section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 has required the full assessment to be recorded, and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 require residents of buildings with two or more domestic premises to receive fire safety instructions and information about fire doors.

What does the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 mean for certificates?

The biggest compliance change is the Private Rented Sector Database, which brings your key certificates together in one official record. The Act received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025, and its main tenancy reforms began on 1 May 2026, including the abolition of section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions and the conversion of assured shorthold tenancies to assured periodic tenancies.

Through the ‘Register your rental property’ service, every landlord must register each rented property and provide the gas safety record (if one exists) with its issue date, the EICR (or an Electrical Installation Certificate), and the most recent EPC.

Further ahead, the Decent Homes Standard is due to apply to private rentals from 2035, and the date for extending Awaab’s Law to the sector has not been confirmed. If any certificate is missing or out of date before your registration window opens, fix it first.

How do I build a 12-month compliance calendar?

Keep one register per property, listing every item with its issue date, expiry date and the date you will book the renewal. Then work to fixed trigger points rather than memory.

Two habits keep the calendar working. First, combine visits: booking gas and electrical inspections together means one access appointment for your tenant, and our landlord gas and electrical bundle starts at £154 inc. VAT. Second, save every certificate as a PDF in a folder per property, ready to upload to the database or send to a council within 7 days of a request.

Which documents must I give tenants, and when?

The deadlines below come from the gas, electrical, energy and fire safety regulations. Missing a deadline is a breach in itself, even when the certificate is valid.

Keep proof of delivery, such as an email with the PDF attached. Where a letting agent manages the property, agree in writing who sends each document.

What compliance gaps do we see most often in London?

Most problems our engineers find are paperwork gaps rather than missed inspections. On London jobs we regularly see:

• Gas safety records renewed on time but never sent to the tenant.
• EICR remedial work completed, with no written confirmation sent to the tenant and the council.
• A boiler or stove moved during a refurbishment, with no CO alarm in the new room.
• EPCs rated D or E with no plan for the October 2030 band C standard.
• HMO alarms and emergency lighting that work, but with no test log to prove it.

How we wrote this guide: this checklist was written and reviewed by BritCertify’s technical team, including Gas Safe registered engineers, NICEIC/NAPIT registered electricians and NEBOSH-qualified fire risk assessors. It was checked against the cited legislation and official guidance from GOV.UK, the HSE and legislation.gov.uk, and was last reviewed in October 2026. Our engineers have been certifying London properties since 2018.