Landlords: If You Don’t Have This Document, Your Section 21 Will Fail

If you are planning to evict a tenant using Section 21, there is one document that can stop you in your tracks.

If you do not have it in place, your eviction will fail, no matter how strong your case feels.

That document is the Gas Safety Certificate.

You Cannot Serve Section 21 Without Gas Safety Certificates

Where a property has gas, the law is strict.

Before you serve a Section 21 notice, you must have:

• A valid gas safety certificate that was in force before the tenant first moved in

• Copies of every annual gas safety certificate carried out during the tenancy

• Certificates that are valid and properly issued

  
  

If any of these certificates do not exist, you cannot rely on Section 21 to regain possession.

Courts treat this as a fundamental compliance requirement, not a technicality.

Missing Certificates Kill Section 21 Completely

This is the part landlords must understand clearly.

If the original gas safety certificate never existed, or you cannot produce it, you cannot fix this later.

You cannot recreate it.

You cannot backdate it.

You cannot rely on Section 21 for that tenancy.

In those cases, Section 21 is permanently unavailable, and your only route to eviction will be Section 8, which is slower and requires specific legal grounds.

Late Service Is Different and Can Be Fixed

There is an important distinction between missing certificates and late service.

If the gas safety certificates exist and were valid, but:

• You forgot to give them to the tenant at the time, or

• They were served late,

  
  

This does not automatically invalidate Section 21.

What matters is that:

• The certificates exist

• They were valid at the time of inspection

• You give copies to the tenant before serving the Section 21 notice

  
  

Late paperwork can be remedied. Paperwork that never existed cannot.

Timing Is Critical

You must give the tenant copies of all relevant gas safety certificates before serving Section 21.

If you serve the notice first and try to fix the paperwork afterwards, the notice will fail.

Courts will not overlook this.

Buying a Property With a Tenant? Read This Carefully

If you buy a property with a tenant already in place, you inherit the compliance history.

That means:

• If the original gas certificate is missing, you inherit that problem

• If annual certificates are missing, Section 21 may be blocked

• You cannot blame the previous landlord in court

  
  

Before buying a tenanted property, you must confirm:

• The original pre-tenancy gas safety certificate exists

• All annual certificates exist

• You can serve copies on the tenant before issuing notice

  
  

Failing to check this can leave you owning a property you cannot evict from using Section 21.

What Landlords Should Do Now

If you are considering serving Section 21:

• Gather all gas safety certificates

• Check there is one from before the tenant moved in

• Confirm annual inspections were carried out

• Serve copies on the tenant before issuing notice

  
  

If anything is missing, stop and get advice before proceeding.

The Bottom Line

The rule is simple:

• No gas safety certificates = no Section 21

• Late service can be fixed

• Missing certificates cannot

  
  

If you don’t have this document in place, your Section 21 eviction will fail.

And by the time you find out, it’s usually too late.