What credentials should a landlord check for repair contractors?.

Use this list to decide what to ask for and what to check. It does not tell you what the law requires for your job, and it is not a complete list for every trade. Tick a box when you can answer yes and show where the evidence is held.

1. Registration for the trade

• For gas work, is the business on the Gas Safe Register for the type of work? The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (opens in a new tab) say an employer must not allow an employee to carry out work on a gas fitting, and a self-employed person must not carry it out, unless they are a member of a class of persons approved by the Health and Safety Executive, with two limited exceptions for replacing a hose or regulator. The regulation applies in England, Wales and Scotland. The Gas Safe Register (opens in a new tab) says registration is a legal requirement for anyone carrying out gas work.
• Have you checked the engineer’s licence on the Gas Safe Register itself, rather than relying on a copy or a photograph?
• For electrical work, have you asked for evidence that the person is qualified and competent? The GOV.UK guidance (opens in a new tab) on electrical safety standards refers to a qualified person, meaning a person competent to carry out the inspection and testing. It points to industry guidance on choosing one, and names the Registered Competent Person Electrical register.
• If the person says they belong to a competent person scheme, have you checked that with the scheme? GOV.UK says an installer can join a scheme to self-certify certain building work, and lists the schemes. For fixed electrical installations in dwellings it lists BESCA, Blue Flame Certification, Certsure (trading as NICEIC), NAPIT and OFTEC. GOV.UK describes joining a scheme as something an installer can choose to do. Ask what other evidence they hold.
• For other trades, such as roofing, plumbing or damp proofing, have you checked what registration or membership the job calls for, and checked it with the body that issues it?

2. Insurance

• Does the contractor have the cover you require for the job, and is the level recorded? Decide the levels you want before you ask, for example for public liability.
• Where the contractor employs people, do they hold employers’ liability insurance? GOV.UK says (opens in a new tab) an employer must have it, from an authorised insurer, to cover at least £5 million.
• Have you seen the current certificate or schedule, not only a summary, and does the policy holder match the business you are engaging?
• Is the expiry date recorded, and is there a reminder before it?

3. Competence evidence

• Have you asked for the qualifications, training and experience that fit the work, and recorded what you were shown?
• Where a person carries out an investigation or an assessment for you, is it recorded why you consider them competent for that task?
• For specialist work, such as solar panels or battery storage, have you checked that the person has experience of that equipment?

4. Right to work

• Do you know who is responsible for right to work checks in the arrangement you have with this contractor? The Home Office employer’s guide of 1 October 2026 (opens in a new tab) says the scheme now covers wider arrangements than direct employment, including individual sub-contractors, and that who is responsible depends on the contract. Read it, and take advice if you are unsure.
• Where the contractor is a business that employs people, have you asked it to confirm that it carries out the checks it must carry out?
• Is it recorded who was responsible for the check, and when it was done?

5. Certificates for the job

• Do you know which certificate or report the job should produce, and have you asked for it?
• Does the certificate name the person or business that did the work, the address, the date, and a registration or reference number?
• Have you checked that reference number at the source that issued it?
• Is the certificate stored with the repair record for that home?

6. Re-checking over time

• Is there a date for each credential, so you know when to check it again?
• Do you check again before a long running contractor’s registration or insurance expires, not only when you first take them on?
• If a credential lapses, is it clear who stops the contractor being offered work until it is renewed?

Expiry tracking table

Copy this table into a spreadsheet. Replace the placeholders. Add a row for each credential and each policy.

This page is general information, not legal advice. What a contractor must hold depends on the work and the contract. Check each requirement with the body that sets it, and take advice if you are unsure.

Related

• What a good repair record looks like
• What the Ombudsman’s repairs findings tell landlords

Sources

1. Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 3: qualification and supervision (legislation.gov.uk)
2. Gas Safe Register: what is Gas Safe Register?
3. Competent person scheme: current schemes and how schemes are authorised (GOV.UK)
4. Electrical safety standards in the private and social rented sectors: guidance (GOV.UK)
5. Employers’ liability insurance (GOV.UK)
6. Employer’s guide to right to work checks, 1 October 2026 (GOV.UK PDF)

General information, not legal advice. Check the primary source before relying on any statement, and take advice from a housing lawyer on your own position. Last reviewed 22 October 2026.