Landlord Gas Safety Certificate Folkestone | CP12 Kent

Landlord gas safety certificates in Folkestone

If you let a property with any gas appliance, you must have a gas safety check carried out every twelve months by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and give the tenant a copy of the record within 28 days, or before a new tenant moves in.

This is a legal duty under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations, not a piece of paperwork to file and forget. Non-compliance carries unlimited fines, and where it contributes to a death it carries prosecution.

We issue CP12 certificates the same day across Folkestone, Hythe and the surrounding villages, for individual landlords and managed portfolios alike.

If you smell gas right now

Call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. Free, staffed 24 hours.

Open doors and windows. Turn the gas off at the meter if you can reach it safely. Do not use light switches, do not use your phone inside the property, do not light anything. Get everyone out.

They will attend and make the situation safe. They do not carry out repairs, and that is where we come in afterwards.

What the check covers

• Every gas appliance tested for safe operation

• Gas tightness of the whole installation

• All flues and ventilation checked

• Appliance operating pressure and heat input measured

• Safety devices tested

• Inspection for signs of incomplete combustion

You receive the CP12 record the same day, listing every appliance, its location and its result.

A gas safety check is not a service

These get confused constantly, and not every firm is in a hurry to clear it up.

A gas safety check confirms the appliance is safe right now. It is a legal requirement for rented property and it involves no cleaning, no maintenance and no work on the appliance whatsoever.

A service maintains the appliance, cleans the components and keeps the manufacturer warranty valid. It is not legally required, but it is the thing that stops the boiler failing in January and leaving you with an emergency callout and an unhappy tenant.

Some operators charge for a certificate and let landlords assume it covered maintenance. It did not. We do both in one visit at a combined price, and the invoice shows them separately so you can see exactly what you paid for. See boiler servicing.

The renewal date rule that saves you a month

Worth knowing, because a lot of landlords get this wrong and lose time every year.

If you renew the certificate within the two months before it expires, the new expiry date runs twelve months from the old expiry, not from the date of the visit. Renew early outside that window and you lose the difference permanently.

So booking in month eleven costs you nothing. Booking in month nine quietly shortens every future cycle. We schedule accordingly rather than simply attending when asked.

Portfolios and agents

For anyone with more than a couple of properties, the administration is the real problem rather than the inspection.

We track expiry dates across your portfolio and contact you before renewal is due, so nothing lapses because a date was missed in a spreadsheet. With your authorisation we arrange access directly with tenants, which removes the three way phone conversation entirely.

Certificates are issued the same day and sent to you and, where you want, to the tenant. Volume pricing is available, and we can combine certificates with servicing and other compliance work in a single visit per property.

See landlord and commercial services.

"Daimon has completed several jobs for me over the years. He is reliable, a tidy workman and his work is top quality and always has a professional finish."

Anthony Bradley, Google review

When an appliance fails

If something is found unsafe it will be classified as At Risk or Immediately Dangerous.

Immediately Dangerous appliances are disconnected and capped with your permission. That is what the regulations require, and it protects you as much as the tenant, because knowingly leaving a dangerous appliance in service is where landlord prosecutions come from.

We will explain exactly what failed and why, quote the repair, and reissue the certificate once it is resolved. Most failures are straightforward and fixed the same week. See boiler repair.

Access, and what happens when a tenant will not let you in

This is the most common practical obstacle, and the law is clear that you must take reasonable steps rather than simply give up.

That means written requests, repeated attempts, and a documented record of both. Evidence of genuine effort is what protects you if the certificate lapses through no fault of your own.

We keep a record of every attempted visit and every appointment offered, and provide it to you, which is exactly the documentation you would need to demonstrate reasonable steps were taken.

Gas leak detection and repair

Not every leak announces itself. Very small leaks on older pipework can sit below the threshold most people can smell, and show up instead as a gas bill that has crept upwards or a faint smell only inside a confined cupboard.

Tightness testing puts the installation under pressure and measures whether it holds. It is the definitive test for whether a leak exists anywhere on the system.

Where a leak is confirmed we trace it along the run, checking joints, the meter connection, appliance connections and any concealed sections. Repairs range from remaking a single joint to replacing a length of pipe. This is a particular consideration in the older terraced housing across Folkestone and Dover, where gas pipework has often been altered by several owners over the decades.

Carbon monoxide alarms

Carbon monoxide has no smell, and its early symptoms look like flu, which is exactly what makes it dangerous. The giveaway is symptoms that improve when someone leaves the house and return when they come back.

Alarms are legally required in rented properties in every room containing a fuel burning appliance, and they are inexpensive. If a property you let does not have them, that is a compliance gap as well as a genuine risk.

LPG and oil

LPG appliances need the same annual gas safety check as mains gas, and require Gas Safe registration with the specific LPG endorsement.

Oil does not carry the identical legal requirement, but servicing is still expected under your repairing obligations and any insurer will ask about it. That matters for the off grid lets around Lyminge, Elham, Sellindge and across the Marsh at New Romney and Dymchurch. See oil and LPG boilers.

"First class service. Excellent communications, great job done on time at fair value. Honest folk. Highly recommended."

John Kelly, Google review

Your other compliance obligations

Gas is one of several. Unvented hot water cylinders need annual servicing by a G3 qualified engineer, and Legionella risk needs assessing and controlling under health and safety law. Both are straightforward and both are easier done in the same visit. See unvented cylinder servicing.

Where we work

Folkestone, Hythe, Sandgate, Seabrook, Saltwood, Hawkinge, Capel-le-Ferne, Lympne, Lyminge, Elham, Sellindge, Dymchurch, New Romney, Dover and Ashford.

Common questions

How long is a CP12 valid? Twelve months from issue, or from the previous expiry date if renewed within the two months before it lapses.

Do I need one if the property has no gas appliances? No. If there is a gas supply but no appliances, the pipework should still be checked as safe.

Does an electric only property need one? No.

Can you do the certificate and the boiler service together? Yes, in one visit at a combined price, itemised separately.

Do I have to give the tenant a copy? Yes. Within 28 days of the check, or before a new tenant moves in.

What if my certificate has already expired? Book immediately. You are non-compliant until it is renewed, and the longer the gap the harder it is to defend.

Do holiday lets need one? Yes. Short term lets carry the same obligation.

Call +44 7915 255984 to book a landlord gas safety certificate in Folkestone.