Quick answer: You have no right of forced entry. HSE is explicit: "You must not use force to enter the property." What protects you instead is evidence that you took all reasonable steps. HSE says inspectors will typically look for at least three documented attempts, and "strongly advises that a record be kept of all correspondence with the tenants." For the EICR specifically, the regulations go further and say you are not treated as having failed to take all reasonable steps solely because you didn't bring legal proceedings to get in. You do not have to take your tenant to court. So the job isn't getting in at any cost. It's building a paper trail that stands up.
Your CP12 — the gas safety certificate — expires on Friday. You've messaged the tenant six times. Nothing.
This is, by some distance, the most common operational problem landlords bring to us, and the advice online is usually either "just keep asking" or a vague suggestion about court orders. Neither is much help on a Wednesday.
Here's the actual sequence, with the timings, the wording, and what to do when the certificate lapses anyway.
Start here: what the law actually asks of you
Two separate duties, two slightly different tests.
| Gas safety check | EICR | |
|---|---|---|
| The duty | Annual safety check of gas appliances and flues by a Gas Safe registered engineer | Inspection and test of the fixed installation at least every 5 years |
| Right of forced entry? | No. HSE: "You must not use force to enter the property" | No |
| The defence | Show you took "all reasonable steps" | Regs 3(2A) and 3(2B): all reasonable steps, and expressly not failed solely for not bringing legal proceedings |
| Evidence expected | HSE: at least three documented attempts, plus a record of all correspondence | The same documented approach |
The EICR wording is genuinely helpful and hardly anyone quotes it. You are not expected to sue your tenant to comply.
For the underlying timescales, see how often you need a gas safety certificate and what happens if your EICR fails.
The escalation ladder, week by week
Work backwards from your expiry date. If you start 10 weeks out, you'll almost never reach the bottom of this ladder.
| When | Step | What to keep |
|---|---|---|
| 10 weeks before expiry | First contact. Offer two or three specific slots rather than asking for their availability | Copy of the message, with timestamp |
| 8 weeks | Second contact by a different channel. If the first was email, use text or WhatsApp | Screenshot showing delivery and read status |
| 6 weeks | Formal letter by post plus email. Explain it's a legal requirement and it's for their safety | Proof of posting, or recorded delivery receipt |
| 4 weeks | Book an engineer for a specific date and notify the tenant of the appointment rather than asking | The booking confirmation and the notification |
| 3 weeks | Engineer attends. If no access, get a written no-access report from the engineer | The no-access report. This is the strongest single piece of evidence you can hold |
| 2 weeks | Second formal letter noting the missed appointment and offering further dates | Proof of posting |
| 1 week | Second engineer attendance, ideally at a different time of day | Second no-access report |
| Expiry | Written notice to the tenant that the certificate has lapsed and why, plus a compiled evidence file | The whole file, dated and in order |
The one thing that changes outcomes: Book the engineer and notify, rather than asking for availability. Open-ended "when suits you?" messages get ignored. A specific date creates a decision point, and if the tenant does nothing, the missed appointment itself becomes evidence. And always get the engineer's written no-access report. A note from a Gas Safe registered engineer confirming they attended on a specific date and could not gain entry is worth more than ten of your own emails.
Template 1: first request
Subject: Annual gas safety check at [ADDRESS]: booking your appointment
Hi [TENANT NAME],
Your annual gas safety check is due before [DATE]. This is a legal requirement and it's there to keep you safe. It takes about 30 to 45 minutes and there's no cost to you.
I've held three slots with our Gas Safe registered engineer:
- [DATE], morning (8am to 12pm)
- [DATE], afternoon (1pm to 5pm)
- [DATE], morning (8am to 12pm)
Just reply with the one that suits and I'll confirm it. If none of those work, let me know two or three times that do and I'll try to match them.
Thanks, [YOUR NAME]
Template 2: formal letter
[DATE]
Dear [TENANT NAME],
Re: Annual gas safety check at [ADDRESS]: legal requirement
I've contacted you on [DATE], [DATE] and [DATE] about arranging the annual gas safety check at the above property. I haven't yet been able to agree a time with you.
Under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, I'm legally required to have all gas appliances and flues at the property checked every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer. The current record expires on [DATE].
This check is for your safety. Faulty gas appliances can produce carbon monoxide, which you cannot see or smell.
Your tenancy agreement requires you to allow access for repairs and safety inspections on reasonable notice. I'm giving you that notice now. I have booked our engineer to attend on [DATE] between [TIME] and [TIME].
If that date genuinely doesn't work, please contact me on [PHONE] or [EMAIL] by [DATE] with alternatives. If access isn't possible, I'll have no option but to record the attempts made and report the position to the Health and Safety Executive.
Yours sincerely, [YOUR NAME]
Template 3: the evidence log
Keep this as a simple table. It's what you'd hand to an HSE inspector or a council officer.
| Date | Method | What was said | Response | Evidence held |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Jun 2026 | Offered 3 slots | None | Sent email, screenshot | |
| 26 Jun 2026 | SMS | Chased, offered 3 further slots | Read, no reply | Screenshot showing read receipt |
| 10 Jul 2026 | Recorded delivery letter | Formal notice, legal requirement explained | Signed for 11 Jul | Proof of posting, signature |
| 24 Jul 2026 | Engineer attendance | Booked visit, 9am to 12pm | No access | Engineer no-access report |
| 31 Jul 2026 | Letter and email | Noted missed visit, offered 3 more | None | Proof of posting, sent email |
| 7 Aug 2026 | Engineer attendance | Second booked visit, 5pm to 7pm | No access | Second no-access report |
What if the certificate lapses anyway?
First, don't panic and don't stop trying. The duty continues, and so does the evidence-gathering.
- Keep going. A lapsed certificate with an ongoing, documented effort is a very different position from a lapsed certificate with nothing behind it.
- Write to the tenant confirming the lapse, why it happened, and that the duty remains. Keep it factual, not accusatory.
- Consider contacting HSE yourself. It sounds counterintuitive, but a landlord who reports that they cannot gain access is in a materially better position than one who is reported by someone else.
- Tell your insurer if your policy requires a valid certificate. Better they hear it from you.
- Take the appointment the moment access becomes possible, even if it's inconvenient.
What about the courts?
An injunction for access is possible in principle. In practice it's slow, expensive, and rarely proportionate for a routine safety check.
For the EICR duty specifically, the regulations expressly say you aren't treated as having failed to take all reasonable steps solely because you didn't bring legal proceedings. That's a strong signal that litigation isn't the expected route.
Since 1 May 2026, possession is via section 8 only, and persistent refusal of access isn't a straightforward possession ground. So the honest answer is: the courts are not your practical remedy here. The paper trail is.
Five things that make access easier
- Give a two-hour window, not a full day. Tenants refuse all-day waits far more than they refuse specific slots.
- Offer at least one early evening or Saturday option. A large share of refusals are really work-schedule conflicts.
- Say how long it takes. "30 to 45 minutes" removes a fear people don't articulate.
- Say it's free to them. Some tenants assume they'll be charged or that it's a pretext for a rent review.
- Bundle the visits. If the EICR, gas check and EPC can be done in one coordinated appointment, that's one access negotiation instead of three. This is the single biggest practical argument for using one provider across the boroughs we cover — you can compare full pricing and book online for a single coordinated visit.
Sources
- HSE: Gas safety, landlords and letting agents FAQs (no forced entry, all reasonable steps, at least three attempts, keep records)
- Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, reg 36 (annual check, 28-day tenant copy duty, record retention)
- Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, reg 3 (regs 3(2A) and 3(2B) all reasonable steps defence)
- gov.uk: Repossessing your privately rented property after 1 May 2026
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About the author
My Landlord Certificate Compliance Team
This guide was written and fact-checked by the My Landlord Certificate compliance team and reviewed against current UK legislation by our NICEIC-approved, NAPIT-registered, Gas Safe registered, accredited DEA and NEBOSH-qualified engineers. We help landlords across all 33 London boroughs stay compliant with fixed-price EICR, Gas Safety (CP12), EPC, Fire Risk Assessment and PAT testing.