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Annual Gas Safety Check For Victorian Rental Properties
- By Gaslec
- Gas
- May 21, 2026
- 6 Min Read
The Rule, In One Paragraph
Under the Residential Tenancies Regulations 2021, a rental provider must ensure a gas safety check is carried out on the gas installations and fittings in a rented premises every 2 years by a licensed or registered gasfitter. Consumer Affairs Victoria states that, if a check has not been completed within the last 2 years when a renter occupies the premises, the rental provider must arrange one as soon as possible. From 13 October 2026, Consumer Affairs Victoria says mandatory gas and electrical safety checks every two years will apply to all rental agreements, whether they commenced before, on or after that date. The gasfitter also needs the right Type A gas appliance servicing endorsement, with plumbing registration and licensing sitting with the Building and Plumbing Commission.
The 2-year Cycle & The New-Tenancy Reset
The timing rule is simple until it hits a real rent roll.
The first clock is the 2-year clock on the gas installation. Once the check is completed, the next due date is worked from that record. If the most recent check was completed 18 months ago, the property is not reset just because a new renter signs a lease. The next check is due when that 2-year cycle runs out.
The second clock is the new-tenancy reset. If a gas safety check has not been conducted within the previous 2 years at the time the renter occupies the property, the rental provider must arrange the check as soon as practicable.
That is the part that catches portfolio operators. The schedule is not the same date every 2 years across the rent roll. It moves with each property’s last completed check, and it can move again when a new tenancy starts. For property managers, this is why a portfolio view of next-due dates matters. Compliance should not live in memory, email trails or a spreadsheet that only one person understands.
What The Check Actually Covers
A gas safety check is more than asking whether the heater turns on. It is a check of the gas system at the property, scoped by the gasfitter on the day according to the appliances, fittings and installation found on site. The kind of work covered may include:
- Isolating, testing and gas-tightness checking of the gas installation
- Inspecting Type A gas appliances such as cooktops, ovens, heaters and hot water units
- Checking appliance access, clearances and restraint where relevant
- Checking ventilation and flueing on flued appliances
- Inspecting components, electrical connections to gas appliances and safety devices
- Testing the gas installation for leakage
- Carrying out a negative pressure test where applicable
- Carrying out carbon monoxide testing on open-flued gas appliances
Carbon monoxide testing is the part many property managers remember because it is the part most directly tied to resident safety. An open-flued gas appliance draws combustion air from the room and sends combustion gases through a flue, with older gas space heaters being a common example. Energy Safe Victoria explains that negative pressure and extraction fans can affect internal open-flued gas appliances and lead to CO spillage.
A gas appliance is the only thing on the property that does not give a second warning. The check is designed to find risk before it becomes an incident, and to leave a clear record of what was inspected, what was tested and what needs attention.
The Certificate, And What The Rental Provider Must Do With It
The certificate is not just a receipt. It is the compliance record.
A proper gas safety record should show the date of the check, the name and licence or registration details of the gasfitter, the appliances and components inspected, the results of the check, and any servicing, repairs or actions required. Where Type A gas appliances are serviced as part of the standard gas installation, the record should also sit alongside the relevant record of gas servicing work.
The rental provider must keep the most recent record until a newer gas safety check record is created. If the renter makes a written request for a copy, the rental provider must provide the most recent record within 7 days.
For property managers running a portfolio, the certificate trail is the evidence base. One screen. One record per property. A clear next-due date. That is the part of the job we take off your desk.
What Happens If The Gasfitter Finds A Defect
A defect does not belong in the footnotes. It belongs on the record, with a clear next step.
If the gasfitter finds a defect, it is noted in the gas safety record. Where the issue is safety-critical, such as a gas leak, a dangerous appliance or a carbon monoxide risk, the appliance or installation must be made safe before the gasfitter leaves the property. That may mean isolating an appliance, turning off supply to the affected part of the installation, or taking another safety action appropriate to the risk.
After that, the defect becomes a repair obligation. Some defects will sit under urgent repair rules. Others will be non-urgent, but still need to be managed, recorded and followed through.
This is where supplier coverage matters. With Gaslec, the same business can cover the follow-up work across gas, plumbing, electrical and smoke, so the property manager is not chasing a second supplier to close the loop.
Where This Fits In The Wider Rental Compliance Picture
The gas safety check is one part of the rental compliance picture, not the whole picture.
Victorian rental providers also need to manage electrical safety checks, smoke alarm checks and other safety-related duties. Electrical safety checks follow a 2-year cycle for the relevant rental agreements. Smoke alarm safety checks are annual for Victorian rental properties. Each obligation has its own timing, evidence and repair pathway.
For the full portfolio view, see Rental Property Compliance. It brings the gas, electrical, smoke and maintenance trail into one compliance picture, so the property manager is not rebuilding the status of each property from scattered emails.
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