Before you sign
Landlord certificates: what your landlord must give you
A landlord in England must give you four papers: the gas safety record if there is gas, the electrical safety report, the Energy Performance Certificate, and the information about where your deposit is protected. Here is when you should get each one, how often it is renewed, and how to check it.
England · Checked 27 October 2026 · Independent
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Check a property freeThe certificates, at a glance
| Certificate | When you get it | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Gas safety record (often called a CP12), if the home has gasHow to check a gas safety record | Before you move in, and each new one within 28 days of the checkEvery year, by a Gas Safe registered engineer | Every year, by a Gas Safe registered engineer |
| Electrical safety report, usually an EICRWhat the report and its codes mean | Before you move in, and each new one within 28 days of the inspectionAt least every 5 years | At least every 5 years |
| Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)Look up the home’s rating | Free, when you first get written details of the home or first view it, whichever is firstValid for 10 years. The home must be band E or better unless it has a registered exemption | Valid for 10 years. The home must be band E or better unless it has a registered exemption |
| Deposit protection informationCheck your deposit is protected | Within 30 days of the landlord getting your depositOnce for each deposit | Once for each deposit |
Also required, without a certificate
- Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. A smoke alarm on every storey you live on, a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed boiler, fire or stove, and both checked on the day you move in. The alarm rules.
- A property licence, if the home needs one. Shared houses of five or more people from two or more households always do, and many councils license other rented homes too. Ask for the licence number. Check whether a postcode needs one.
- Written information about the tenancy. Before you sign, for a tenancy starting from 1 May 2026: who the landlord is, the rent, the deposit and your rights. What replaced the How to Rent guide.
- An address for notices. An address in England and Wales where you can send the landlord notices. What a section 48 notice is.
What certificates does a landlord need?
In England, a landlord must give you a gas safety record if the home has gas, an electrical safety report, an Energy Performance Certificate and, once you pay a deposit, the information about the scheme protecting it. They must also fit working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and hold a licence if the home needs one, but neither comes as a certificate you are owed.
Can I see the certificates before I sign?
You should get the EPC before you even view, and you can ask to see the gas and electrical records too: the landlord must give you copies before you move in anyway. A landlord or agent who can’t produce them before you sign is a warning sign.
What if my landlord hasn’t given me them?
Ask in writing and keep a copy. If they still don’t, contact your council’s private housing team, which enforces the electrical, alarm and energy rules. For gas, the Health and Safety Executive enforces the yearly check. A deposit that wasn’t protected, or whose information you never got, can lead to compensation of one to three times the deposit.
Does a landlord need a PAT test or a legionella certificate?
No. A private landlord doesn’t have to test appliances (PAT testing), though some do. For legionella, the landlord must assess the risk from the water system, but the Health and Safety Executive says the law doesn’t require a test certificate. Don’t let either be sold to you as something you are owed.
Does a landlord need a fire safety certificate?
Not for a single home let to one household. The shared parts of a house in multiple occupation or a block of flats need a fire risk assessment by whoever is responsible for them. Every rented home needs the smoke alarms and, where there is a fixed combustion appliance, carbon monoxide alarms.
Is there a landlord registration certificate?
Not yet. Landlords in England must register on the new Private Rented Sector Database from 15 December 2026, region by region, but renters can’t search it yet. Until then, a council licence is the only registration some homes need.
Where this comes from
On legislation.gov.uk: the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 36; the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, regulation 3; and the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, regulation 6. On GOV.UK: your landlord’s safety responsibilities and information landlords must give about a deposit. The Health and Safety Executive on legionella and landlords.
This guide covers common private tenancies in England and is general information, not legal advice. Different rules apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to lodgers, social housing and some specialist accommodation. RenterCheck is independent and not connected with any landlord, agent or council.
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