Building Regulations

The Building Regulations in England and Wales make it a legal requirement for the appropriate Local Authority (LA) to be informed about the installation of a heat producing gas appliance e.g. boiler or fire.

Only a Gas Safe registered engineer can fit a new gas appliance. Once a gas appliance has been installed it can only be notified by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

If you have a new gas appliance fitted your Gas Safe registered engineer should let your LA know. Registered engineers have responsibility for complying with the Building Regulations but the owner of the property is ultimately the one who may be the focus of enforcement action by the LA if the work is not notified.

Your engineer can notify the work through a service Gas Safe
Register provides. Once your engineer notifies they have fitted a new heat producing gas appliance in your home you will receive a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate. This should arrive around 10-15 working days after we have received the notification.

It is important to keep this certificate as it may be needed if you sell your home or if you choose to remortgage. The certificate belongs with the property so if you sell your home then the certificate will need to be passed on to the next owner.

Similar requirements to England and Wales exist in Isle of Man and Guernsey. However, there is currently no mandatory requirement to notify installations in Northern Ireland or Scotland. For more information on the Scottish regulations visit the Scottish Government website.

There is no requirement to notify the installation of flueless cookers. However, range cookers with a chimney/flue that also provide heating do require notification. Gas Safe registered businesses are encouraged to provide customers with a record of the installation and for this reason can still notify flueless cookers, which may be seen as an added value service. In these cases the home owner will receive a Declaration of Safety Certificate.

How long does a business have to notify my installation?
The Building Regulations state that the LA must be notified within 30 working days of a new appliance being fitted.

Not received your certificate?

If you have not received your certificate call our Customer Services and we will check if your engineer has notified the installation. If they haven’t you will need to contact your engineer to ask them to notify the work to ensure compliance with the Building Regulations requirement.

What if my engineer does not notify my appliance after installation?

If an engineer does not notify your appliance after installation and it is of a type that the LA needs to know about under the Building Regulations requirement you should contact your engineer and instruct them to notify it immediately. If necessary seek advice from your Local Authority Building Control Department or Citizens Advice Consumer Services.

Lost or missing certificate?
If you damage or lose your certificate a duplicate one can be provided, however there will be a charge. For information on how to obtain a duplicate certificate please contact our Customer Services.

What Next?

Doing DIY
Gas Safe Register advises that you don't DIY with gas. Find out why.

Fit a carbon monoxide alarm
A carbon monoxide alarm will alert you if there is carbon monoxide in the air.