Electrics and gas
The seller offers last year's landlord gas safety record in place of the boiler paragraph. What does that record not do?
Not the work of the boiler paragraph. Last year's landlord gas safety record does not replace what the survey says about the boiler, and it does not inspect the boiler on the survey day. The record is someone else's check, at another time, written for a landlord's duty. It is not the surveyor's sentence, and it is not a fresh look at the flue, the controls or the ventilation. Gas work belongs with a Gas Safe engineer. Keep the survey paragraph. If you need today's condition, ask an engineer to see the boiler now.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
A landlord gas safety record and a home-survey paragraph answer different questions. The record belongs to a letting, for the appliances it lists. The survey paragraph is what this inspection could see. Offering last year's paper in place of the boiler paragraph asks you to swap those jobs. The record does not edit the survey, it does not prove the boiler was opened this week, and it does not remove a limitation written because a panel or a flue was hidden.
Give both documents to your solicitor and to a Gas Safe engineer, and ask the engineer what they will check now rather than what was signed last year. Do not let the agent drop the boiler paragraph because a record exists. If the form names different appliances from the ones in the house, point that out. A previous entry on a landlord's form is still not this inspection, and it does not count as a service of the boiler on the day you viewed it.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which limits in the boiler paragraph would a past gas record leave untouched?
- Did you see the same appliances the seller now relies on, or were some hidden?
- Can you confirm the gas record is not part of your own inspection?
What are the typical next steps?
- Keep the survey boiler paragraph even if a gas record is offered.
- Ask a Gas Safe engineer to inspect the boiler as it stands today.
- Show the solicitor both papers instead of swapping one for the other.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If last year's record says the boiler passed, is it certified today?
No. A past landlord record is not today's inspection. It does not service the boiler, and it does not replace the survey paragraph from this visit.
Can the agent staple the record into the survey and call the boiler updated?
No. Adding a landlord's form does not make it the surveyor's finding. The boiler paragraph remains the inspection note. The record is a separate piece of paper.