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What is Boiler service?
Last verified 23 October 2026
A boiler service is routine maintenance in which a Gas Safe registered engineer examines, adjusts and tests a gas boiler so it keeps working safely and efficiently. It is not the same as the annual gas safety check, which is a specific legal check with its own record.
Why it matters to landlords
In England, Wales and Scotland, landlords must keep the gas fittings and flues they provide in a safe condition, as well as arranging a safety check at intervals of no more than 12 months. HSE says the maintenance duty is separate from the duty to keep gas safety records. Appliances should be serviced in line with the manufacturer's instructions, and where there are no instructions HSE recommends a service every year unless the engineer advises otherwise.
Many landlords book the service and the safety check on the same visit to save a call out, but they should make sure both pieces of work are actually done and written up. A dated service report is useful evidence of maintenance if a tenant reports a fault, and service costs are part of the normal running costs of a let.
Example
A landlord's boiler manual says to service it once a year. The landlord books the engineer for the service and the gas safety check together in September, receives a service report and a gas safety record, and gives the tenant a copy of the safety record within 28 days of the check.
Gas safety rules for landlords →