Gas Safety Certificates in Hendon

Gas Safety Certificates in Hendon: what is different here

How much of Hendon actually runs on gas

Census 2021 asked every household how its home was heated. In Hendon ward, which takes in Church End, Brent Street and Hendon Central, 71.6% used mains gas alone, close to the Barnet figure of 72.8%, while 13.9% used electric heating only and 1.6% were on a district or communal heat network. West Hendon ward was different: 63.0% gas only, 18.1% electric only and 4.6% on a heat network.

If a let flat has no gas supply and no gas appliance, there is nothing for the annual check to cover and the landlord gas safety duty does not apply to it. A flat with electric storage heaters but a gas hob is still in scope for that hob.

West Hendon Waterside and the energy centre in Block E2

The Housing Design Awards entry for Hendon Waterside says heat comes through a district heating network linked to an energy centre in the basement of Block E2, which uses gas CHP and gas-fired boilers. That plant belongs to the building's operator, not to the owner of a flat, and it is not covered by the flat's gas safety record.

A flat on that network with an electric hob has no gas appliance of its own to check. Landlords there should still ask the managing agent for the heat network's maintenance arrangements and keep a note on file explaining why there is no gas record, because tenants and agents often ask for one.

Boilers and flues in converted Victorian and Edwardian houses

In a house split into two or three flats, each flat usually has its own combi or system boiler, often squeezed into a kitchen cupboard or a former box room, and the flues do not always take the shortest route outside. Older conversions may also have meters and gas pipes running through another flat or the shared hall. The engineer needs to see the full length of any flue we can reach, check ventilation where an older open-flued appliance survives, and test the installation pipework from the flat's meter.

If a flue disappears into a ceiling void with no inspection hatch, the record will say so, and an access hatch may be needed before the check can be completed next year.

Barnet HMO licences: the record goes to the council every year

Barnet's standard HMO licence conditions go further than the national duty. Where gas is supplied, the licence holder must send the council a copy of the current gas safety certificate every year, no more than 12 months old when it is submitted, and any remedial work must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer within the time the council sets.

Shared student houses near Middlesex University often have a boiler, a gas hob in a communal kitchen and sometimes an old gas fire in a front room, so every one of those has to appear on the record. Diary the council submission alongside the anniversary.

Timing checks around student tenancies

Many Hendon student lets change hands in the summer, and the gas safety record has to be given to new tenants before they move in. A check carried out within the two months before the due date keeps the original anniversary, so a July check for an August renewal does not shorten the next cycle. Book while the outgoing group is still there if the house will be empty for a few weeks, and make sure the engineer can get into every bedroom that has a gas appliance.

Official sources

• Census 2021 heating type for Hendon, West Hendon and Barnet
• Hendon Waterside district heating from the Block E2 energy centre
• Barnet HMO licence conditions: annual gas certificate to the council
• Landlord gas safety duty and record timings (Gas Safety Regs 1998, reg 36)
• Middlesex University campus on The Burroughs

Last reviewed October 2026 by EliteShires Property Services.