Quick-reference table
The three documents in one glance:
- •CP12 (Landlord Gas Safety Record): issued by Gas Safe engineers, annually for rented property. Legal basis: Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. Validity: 12 months.
- •EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report): issued by competent electricians (NICEIC, NAPIT, Stroma etc). Required every 5 years for rented property. Legal basis: Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector Regulations 2020 (England). Validity: 5 years or as stated.
- •Minor Works (MW): issued by competent electricians for electrical work not requiring an EIC (Electrical Installation Certificate). Legal basis: BS 7671:2018 Amendment 2:2022. Validity: certifies the work was compliant at the time; no expiry.
CP12 — Landlord Gas Safety Record
Who issues it: Gas Safe registered engineers only. Your registration number (7 digits) goes on every certificate.
What triggers it: annual safety check on all gas appliances and pipework in a rented property. The landlord's legal duty is every 12 months. You can do the check up to 2 months before the anniversary without it affecting the renewal date.
Legal basis: Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, Regulation 36. Non-compliance is a criminal offence — fines up to £6,000 per appliance per breach, plus prosecution under the Health and Safety at Work Act if a death occurs.
Validity: 12 months. A copy must go to the landlord within 28 days of the check, and to any new tenant before occupation.
CP12 — what must be on it
The Regulations specify exactly what goes on the record. Missing any of these makes the CP12 non-compliant.
- •Landlord (or letting agent) name and address
- •Property inspection address
- •Description and location of each appliance and flue
- •Date of inspection
- •Engineer name, company, and Gas Safe registration number
- •Results of safety checks (tightness test, flue flow, ventilation, operating pressure, safety devices)
- •Appliance status: Satisfactory, At Risk (AR), or Immediately Dangerous (ID)
- •Any defects and action taken
- •Engineer signature
CP12 — most common errors
The errors that come up in Gas Safe audits and landlord disputes:
- •Missing or misprinted Gas Safe reg number
- •Not recording flue inspection for each appliance
- •Using 'N/A' for mandatory checks without a written reason
- •Failing to mark appliances ID or AR when defects are found
- •Not issuing to tenant within 28 days of inspection
- •Listing only working appliances — condemned appliances must still appear
EICR — Electrical Installation Condition Report
Who issues it: a 'competent person' under BS 7671 — typically an electrician registered with NICEIC, NAPIT, Stroma, ECA or equivalent. The scheme membership is not legally mandatory but is required by most insurers and local authorities.
What triggers it: rented property — required every 5 years under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 (equivalents apply in Scotland and Wales). Commercial property — typically every 5 years or as the duty-holder's risk assessment indicates. Owner-occupied — recommended every 10 years or on change of occupancy.
Legal basis: Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020. Local authority enforcement with penalties up to £30,000 per breach.
Validity: as stated on the report, maximum 5 years for rented property. Dated from the inspection day.
EICR — the observation codes
Every observation on an EICR is classified with one of four codes. Understanding them matters because landlords must act on C1 and C2 within 28 days.
- •C1 — Danger present. Risk of injury. Immediate action required.
- •C2 — Potentially dangerous. Urgent remedial action required.
- •C3 — Improvement recommended. Not dangerous, but could be improved.
- •FI — Further investigation required without delay.
EICR — most common errors
The errors Competent Person Schemes cite most often:
- •Overuse of C3 when the observation is actually C2 (common on older boards with no RCD protection)
- •Marking 'satisfactory' overall when a C1 or C2 exists (makes the whole report invalid)
- •Not recording circuit details for every final circuit
- •Missing insulation resistance test values — 'N/A' is rarely acceptable
- •Signing off without testing — an EICR without full test results is not an EICR
- •Using an outdated Inspection Schedule — BS 7671:2018 Amendment 2:2022 introduced new requirements (AFDDs, surge protection, EV charging)
Minor Works Certificate (MW)
Who issues it: competent electricians under BS 7671. Scheme registration (NICEIC, NAPIT etc) is required for notifiable work under Part P of the Building Regulations in England and Wales.
What triggers it: electrical work that adds to or alters an existing circuit but does not constitute a new circuit — for example adding a socket, replacing a light switch, changing a shower isolator. A new circuit requires a full Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC), not MW.
Legal basis: BS 7671:2018 Amendment 2:2022 (the Wiring Regulations). Part P of the Building Regulations 2010 for England and Wales sets out when work is notifiable — special locations (bathrooms, outdoors), new circuits, and consumer unit replacements.
Validity: certifies compliance at the time of issue. No expiry, but the work will be re-inspected during the next EICR.
Minor Works — what must be on it
The MW certificate has three parts. All three must be completed.
- •Part 1 — Description and extent of the work; departures (if any) from BS 7671
- •Part 2 — Installation details (existing earthing arrangement, protective device type and rating, supply characteristics)
- •Part 3 — Essential test results (continuity of CPC, insulation resistance, polarity, earth fault loop impedance, RCD operation if applicable)
- •Plus: designer/installer/inspector name, scheme registration number, signature, date
Minor Works — most common errors
The recurring issues that come up in scheme audits:
- •Using MW for new circuits (which require an EIC, not MW)
- •Missing test values — continuity and insulation resistance must show actual figures, not 'N/A'
- •Not recording earth fault loop impedance or RCD trip time where applicable
- •Issuing MW for work in a bathroom without notifying Building Control under Part P
- •Signing as installer and inspector on the same line when the work required independent inspection
Cross-cutting mistakes
Three errors that apply to all three document types and account for most rejected certificates:
- •Illegible handwriting — scheme auditors and landlords reject certificates they can't read. Digital issuance solves this.
- •No unique certificate number — duplicates and disputes become impossible to resolve
- •Backdated certificates — writing today's date for last month's work is a compliance breach and, for rented property, potentially fraud
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