With the Renters Rights Act 2025 looming, many landlords will be searching for pre-tenancy gas safety certificates so they can serve last minute section 21 notices. But do they need them?
In order for a landlord to rely on a notice pursuant to section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 (a Section 21 Notice) to evict an assured shorthold tenant, section 21(A) of the Housing Act 1988 provides that no 'prescribed requirement' can have been breached by that landlord. One such 'prescribed requirement', as per regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (the Gas Safety Regulations), is that the landlord must provide a valid Gas Safety Certificate annually. However, it is not immediately apparent from review of the legislation as to whether the failure to provide a valid Gas Safety Certificate can be remedied by the landlord.
The County Court considered this issue in October 2025 in the appeal judgment of HHJ Clarke in Cassell & Cassel v Sidhu & Sidhu (K01RG618). The Sidhus (the Landlords) had granted an assured shorthold tenancy to the Cassells (the Tenants), and subsequently served a Section 21 Notice to terminate the tenancy. Gas safety checks were performed on behalf of the Landlord on 14 January 2021 (before the start of the tenancy), 21 February 2022, and 27 February 2023, and Gas Safety Certificates provided. However, the 2021 Gas Safety Certificate did not contain a valid address for the Landlords, as is required by the Gas Safety Regulations. This, the Tenants argued, constituted a breach of a ’prescribed requirement' and therefore the landlord would be unable to rely on a Section 21 Notice to regain possession.
The Landlords sought to argue that the subsequent Gas Safety Certificates in 2022 and 2023, which the parties agreed were valid, were sufficient to remedy the initially defective Gas Safety Certificate.
At the initial possession hearing, DDJ Hunter found that, whilst the 2021 Gas Safety Certificate did not contain all of the prescribed information concerning the address of the Landlords, the Landlords could rely on the 2022 and 2023 Gas Safety Certificates. A possession order was awarded, though this was subsequently appealed.
In the appeal judgment, HHJ Clarke provided a lengthy analysis of the precedent cases on the relationship between the Gas Safety Regulations and section 21(A) of the Housing Act 1988. Ultimately, HHJ Clarke found that regulation 36 of the Gas Safety Regulations requires the landlord to retain a record of valid Gas Safety Certificates, but only until "there have been two further checks". Accordingly, HHJ Clarke found that it cannot be the intention of parliament that a landlord must be able to produce valid Gas Safety Certificates for the entirety of the term of a tenancy, and producing the most recent two valid Gas Safety Certificates is sufficient for service of a section 21 notice. Accordingly the appeal was dismissed, and the possession order was upheld.
Whilst the judgment in Cassell & Casell may provide some comfort to landlords facing problems with historic Gas Safety Certificates, this may not be the final word on the issue. In Cassell & Cassell, it was agreed between the parties that a gas safety inspection had taken place in 2021, and the issues between the parties related only to the prescribed information included on the certificate. It is also worth noting that, whilst they can be taken into account, County Court judgments are not binding and judges will always consider the specific facts of a case.
Landlords seeking to rely on section 21 notices prior to the 1 May 2026 deadline (and later for registered providers) should remain extremely cautious around potentially defective Gas Safety Certificates. Whilst Cassell & Cassell may provide some comfort if an error has been made historically, it is unlikely to be of assistance in cases where a landlord is unable to provide copies of valid Gas Safety Certificates at all.
