Tenant Refusing a Gas Safety Check? What Counts as All Reasonable Steps

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A tenant refusing entry does not remove a landlord's duty under regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 to have the landlord's gas appliances and flues checked at least every 12 months. Regulation 39 provides a defence only if the landlord can show they took all reasonable steps, and HSE says its inspectors look for at least three attempts.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Landlords should seek independent legal advice for their specific circumstances. It describes the position in England.

Who is responsible if the tenant will not let the engineer in?

The landlord remains responsible. Regulation 36(3) requires the landlord to ensure each gas appliance and flue the landlord provides is checked for safety within 12 months of installation and then at intervals of not more than 12 months. Appliances the tenant is entitled to remove are excluded by regulation 36(1), and regulation 36(4) requires the work to be done by an engineer on the Gas Safe Register. A tenant's refusal does not move that duty onto the tenant.

What the refusal changes is the landlord's defence. Regulation 39, headed "Exception as to liability", provides that no person is guilty of an offence for a contravention of regulation 36 "in any case in which he can show that he took all reasonable steps to prevent that contravention."

Two points follow from that wording:

• The burden sits with the landlord. It is the landlord who must show the steps, so the defence is only as good as the evidence behind it.
• The test is "all reasonable steps", not "some steps". A single unanswered text message is unlikely to meet it.

The wider certificate rules, including the 28 day duty to give tenants a copy, are set out in our gas safety certificate (CP12) guide.

What does HSE say counts as reasonable steps?

HSE does not set a statutory number of attempts, but its landlord guidance states that "HSE inspectors will look for at least three attempts to complete the gas safety check." It also states that "It would ultimately be for a court to decide if the action taken was reasonable depending upon the individual circumstances."

HSE's guidance and its leaflet for landlords, A guide to landlords' duties (INDG285), point to the same practical elements:

Three attempts is the figure inspectors look for, not a safe harbour. A landlord who makes three attempts in three days, all by text, may still struggle to show the steps were reasonable. Varied methods, reasonable notice and offers of alternative times are what make a record persuasive.

Can a landlord let themselves in to do the check?

No. HSE states plainly that landlords "must not use force to enter the property", and INDG285 notes that the gas regulations give landlords no power to force entry.

The right to ask for access comes from the tenancy itself. Most written tenancies contain an access clause for inspections and safety checks, and HSE guidance says the tenancy should allow access for this purpose. Implied terms may also help: section 11(6) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 lets a landlord view the condition of the property on 24 hours' written notice, and section 16 of the Housing Act 1988 implies a term giving access for repairs the landlord is entitled to carry out. Whether either covers a particular gas visit depends on the wording and facts, so the tenancy clause is the stronger starting point.

How notice rules apply to other kinds of visit is covered in our article on access for repairs when a tenant refuses entry.

How can landlords use the two month window to avoid a lapse?

Regulation 36A, added by the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) (Amendment) Regulations 2018, lets a check carried out in the two months before the deadline date be treated as if it were made on the deadline date. The deadline date is the last day of the 12 month period in which the check is due.

For a tenant who is hard to reach, this is the most useful rule in the regulations. Starting at around ten months gives a full two months for repeated attempts without losing the existing renewal date.

Regulation 36A also contains a separate, once only option to check an appliance up to two months after the deadline, but only to bring its date into line with another appliance in the same property. It is not a general grace period. There is no general grace period for an overdue gas safety check, a point covered in our gas safety certificate expiry guide.

What are the penalties if the gas safety record lapses?

A breach of regulation 36 is a criminal offence under section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. HSE is the main enforcing authority for these duties.

HSE's guidance describes the risk as "a substantial fine and/or a custodial sentence". The level of any sentence is set by the court and depends on the facts, including the risk created and how the landlord responded.

Where a tenant has blocked access, the record of attempts is what lets the landlord rely on regulation 39. Without that record, an overdue check is likely to look like any other lapse.

Before 1 May 2026, failing to give the tenant a copy of the gas safety record could prevent a landlord from serving a section 21 notice. Section 21 was abolished for assured tenancies in England from 1 May 2026 by the Renters' Rights Act 2025, so possession of an assured tenancy is now sought on the Schedule 2 grounds using a Section 8 notice.

What should a landlord do if the tenant keeps refusing?

If repeated attempts fail, the main legal route is a county court claim for an injunction requiring the tenant to give access. The court will expect to see the history of requests and refusals, and an order can set a date and terms for the visit. Legal advice is recommended before issuing.

Persistent refusal may also be a breach of the tenancy's access term. That can support Ground 12 of Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988, a discretionary ground for breach of a tenancy obligation, which needs two weeks' notice under section 8(4AA). Because the ground is discretionary, the court must also be satisfied that possession is reasonable. Our table of Section 8 notice periods sets out the other grounds.

Possession is rarely the first answer to a refused gas check. An injunction deals with the safety problem directly, and when deciding whether possession is reasonable a court may take into account whether that less drastic step was tried first.

What should the access record contain?

The record should let someone who was not involved see exactly what was tried, when, and what happened. HSE advises keeping records of all correspondence in case the landlord has to show the steps taken.

1. The date of the last gas safety check and the deadline date under regulation 36A.
2. Each attempt: the date, the method (letter, email, text, phone call, visit), and the dates offered.
3. The reason for the visit, stated in the request itself.
4. The tenant's reply, or the absence of one, and any reason given for refusing.
5. Engineer attendance notes where a booked visit failed, kept with the engineer's details.
6. Evidence that each letter was served, such as a certificate of posting or delivery confirmation. Our guide to proving a tenant received a document explains the options.
7. The eventual gas safety record, and confirmation of when the tenant received a copy.

Regulation 36(3)(c) requires the gas safety record itself to be kept until two further checks have been carried out on that appliance or flue. There is no set retention period for access correspondence, but keeping it with the record for at least as long is sensible. Our record retention table covers other documents.

Action checklist when a tenant blocks the gas check

1. Diarise the deadline date from the last record and start attempts around month ten.
2. Put the first request in writing, with proposed dates and the safety reason.
3. Make at least three attempts, using different methods and offering alternative times.
4. Keep a dated log of every attempt, reply and failed engineer visit.
5. Do not enter without consent, even with a key.
6. Take legal advice on an injunction if refusal continues past the deadline.
7. Once the check is done, give the tenant a copy of the record within 28 days and keep proof.

Keeping the access record in one place

The weak point in most refused access cases is not the effort made, it is the evidence. LLCR is designed to hold that evidence alongside the certificate itself. Certificate tracking sends reminders 30 days and 7 days before the gas deadline, each attempt you record in LLCR is time-stamped in the property's tamper-evident audit trail, and proof of service entries record what was sent, to whom and when. LLCR is free for one property.

For landlords who want structured training, LLCR Academy's Complete Landlord Course is in development, with a module on inspections, repairs and records, and a waitlist is open.

Not sure whether every gas record you hold is current? The free LLCR compliance checker takes a few minutes and shows which certificates need attention first.