Landlord customers with many properties: how heating and electrical firms manage them

Manage landlord customers as a register, not a diary. Keep one row per property with the landlord, the agent, tenant access details, the last gas safety check and EICR dates, and when each is due. Gas checks are yearly and can be done up to two months early without losing the date. EICRs in England are due at least every five years.

Why are landlord customers different?

Because the work is recurring, legally timed and shared between three people: the landlord who pays, the agent who manages, and the tenant who opens the door. Miss one and the landlord is out of compliance. Get it right and a landlord with 40 properties gives you 40 gas checks a year, repairs, and an EICR on each property every five years in England.

A heating and gas engineer in Northern Ireland with six staff looks after about 700 gas customers. A domestic gas firm we spoke to, with three engineers and two subbies, had gas safety reminders going stale in an old database. An electrician in East Anglia who does landlord work alongside solar and EV chargers, with two apprentices, could only do his admin on Monday mornings. That's the failure: due dates exist, but nobody is working from them between Mondays.

What do the rules say landlords need from you?

The duty is the landlord's, but the timetable is what they hire you for. Know it better than they do.

Electrical safety in England. Private landlords must have the electrical installation inspected and tested at least every five years by a qualified person. The tenant gets the report within 28 days; a new tenant before they move in; the council within 7 days if it asks in writing. Remedial or further investigation work must be finished within 28 days, or sooner if the report says, and written confirmation sent within 28 days of completion (legislation.gov.uk, regulation 3). Councils can fine up to £40,000. The rules now cover social landlords too: tenancies granted before 1 December 2025 have an initial inspection deadline of 1 November 2026.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland differ. Scotland requires an EICR at least every five years with appliance testing as part of the same inspection. In Wales, a valid electrical condition report must be in place for each occupation contract, valid for up to five years. In Northern Ireland, the five-yearly electrical regulations apply to new private tenancies from 1 April 2025 and existing ones from 1 December 2025.

How do you set up a register?

One sheet per landlord, one row per property. Fill in what you know, and ask the landlord or agent for the gaps when you next speak.

Landlord: name, Agent: agency, contact, email, Invoice to: landlord or agent

Property | Tenant contact | Access notes | Gas appliances | Last gas check | Gas due | Last EICR | EICR due | Remedials open | Notes
address | name, phone | key safe code held by agent / tenant only / dog | combi, hob | date | date + 12 months | date | date + 5 years or sooner | none / C2 at consumer unit, due date | smoke and CO alarms checked

Keep the register where your engineers can see it on their phones. When an engineer finishes a check, the new date goes in the same day, along with any defects and photos. The job files themselves belong in one folder per property; see organising job files.

How do you spread 40 properties across the year?

Book from the due dates, inside the two-month early window. For a landlord with 40 properties, that's 40 gas checks a year and, in England, an average of 8 EICRs a year if their five-year cycles are evenly spread.

Combining a gas check with an EICR on the same visit saves a trip and a tenant appointment. It only works if your register shows both dates side by side.

What do you do when a tenant won't let you in?

Record every attempt. The landlord has to show they took all reasonable steps, and HSE's guidance says inspectors look for repeated attempts with written notice. Never force entry.

1. Book through the agent or tenant early.

   Eight to ten weeks before the due date gives room for two more attempts.

2. Log each attempt.

   Date, time, method, what was said. Photograph a calling card left at the door.

3. Write to the tenant.

   Explain the check is a legal requirement for their safety and offer dates. Copy the landlord or agent.

4. Tell the landlord in writing before the due date.

   They decide the next step; it's their legal duty, and they may need legal advice.

How do you invoice landlords and agents without chasing?

Agree once who you invoice, at what rate, and whether you can do repairs up to a set amount without asking. Put that in writing for each landlord. Then invoice on completion with the property address and the certificate attached, because agents pay faster when the paperwork matches the job. For late payers, see how to chase an unpaid invoice. Our CP12 guide covers the gas record itself.

Running a landlord book this way is admin-heavy, which is where a growing firm often feels the strain; see growing without an office manager.

Common questions