Heating maintenance records insurers, landlords and auditors ask for

Commercial engineers covering Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire

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The heating maintenance records that insurers, landlords and auditors usually ask to see are the ones a commercial duty holder should be keeping anyway: a service report or log book entry for each gas appliance, gas safety inspection records, notices of any defects and what was done about them, the written scheme of examination and examination reports where the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000 (PSSR) apply, design records such as ventilation or chimney calculations, and the site logs your own staff keep between visits. Exactly what an insurer wants depends on your policy wording, so check the conditions or ask your broker. This guide sets out what each record is, where the law or guidance mentions it, and a simple way to file it so you can find it when someone asks.

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Commercial heating tips and advice · 15 October 2026 · Fast Commercial Boiler Help, Gas Safe 985448

Why the records matter: the duty holder's legal position

For most commercial premises the starting point is regulation 35 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (GSIUR). It says every employer or self-employed person must ensure that "any gas appliance, installation pipework or flue installed at any place of work under his control is maintained in a safe condition so as to prevent risk of injury to any person." Regulation 35 itself does not prescribe a certificate or record format for workplaces. In practice, the service reports, inspection records and defect notes on file are how you show an insurer, landlord or auditor that the maintenance has actually happened.

HSE's guidance for employers says gas appliances should be maintained in a safe condition by a competent person "in line with manufacturers' instructions and appropriate standards". It also gives the example of a primary school where 25 pupils and 2 members of staff were evacuated after carbon monoxide from an inadequately maintained boiler leaked into a classroom. The employer did have a maintenance system, HSE says, "but poor practices had crept in". Reviewing your own records regularly is one way to spot that drift before it causes harm.

Heating maintenance records for insurance, leases and audits

These are the records worth having on file for commercial heating plant. Not every site needs every item: PSSR records, for example, only apply where PSSR applies.

Record	What it is	Where it comes from
Service report and boiler log book	What the engineer checked, cleaned and measured on each appliance, with readings and any faults	Manufacturers' instructions. Ideal's Evomax 2 manual, for example, tells the engineer to complete the service section of the log book after servicing and return it to the owner or their representative, and to complete the Benchmark checklist, recording CO and combustion ratio readings as required.
Defect notices and remedial work	Any defect found during work on a gas appliance, who was told, and what was done or recommended	GSIUR regulation 26(9): after work on a gas appliance the engineer must examine the flue, combustion air supply, operating pressure or heat input (or combustion performance) and safe functioning, and take all reasonably practicable steps to notify any defect to the responsible person and, where different, the owner of the premises.
Gas safety inspection records	A dated check of appliances, flues and installation pipework, with the engineer's name and registration number	Supports your regulation 35 duty. See the landlord section below for the record contents GSIUR sets out where regulation 36 applies.
PSSR written scheme of examination	Which parts of a pressure system are examined, how and how often, certified by a competent person	HSE INDG178 and PSSR. Only where the system contains a "relevant fluid", such as steam at any pressure or pressurised hot water above 110°C.
PSSR examination reports	The competent person's written report after each examination	PSSR regulations 9 and 14 (details below).
Design and deviation records	Calculations and conclusions where a ventilation or chimney design deviates from the prescribed requirements	IGEM/UP/10 Edition 4: these must be recorded and retained with the plant records, and a system design verification notice (SDVN) displayed.
Operations and maintenance (O&M) documentation	Manuals, drawings, asset lists and handover information for the plant	CIBSE Guide M (2023) has a part on operations and maintenance documentation (Part M8).
Site logs	Plant room walk-rounds, pressure gauge readings, lockouts and faults reported, kept by trained site staff	Your own procedures, your planned maintenance schedule, and any insurer conditions (see the insurer section below).
Engineer competence	The name and Gas Safe registration number of each engineer, and the type of work they are qualified for	HSE: it is the employer's responsibility to check that a person is registered and qualified.

Gas safety records: what a good one contains

HSE says that in workplaces such as shops, restaurants, schools and hospitals, work on gas fittings must be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer who is qualified to do the work, and that it is your responsibility to check. You can check registration and qualifications on the Gas Safe Register website or by phoning Gas Safe Register on 0800 408 5500, and registered engineers carry a Gas Safe ID card showing the type of work they are qualified to do. Record the engineer's name and registration number against every visit.

For workplaces, GSIUR does not set out the contents of a gas safety record. Regulation 36, which covers landlords of premises let for residential purposes, does. That list is a useful benchmark for any commercial record. Regulation 36(3)(c) says the record must include the date of the check, the address of the premises, the name and address of the landlord (or their agent), a description and the location of each appliance or flue checked, any safety defect identified, any remedial action taken, confirmation that the check complies with regulation 36(9), the name and signature of the person carrying out the check, and their (or their employer's) registration number. If your inspection records already cover those points for each appliance, they will usually answer the questions people ask.

PSSR records, where the regulations apply

Some commercial heating plant, such as a steam boiler and its pipework and protective devices, is covered by PSSR. HSE's leaflet INDG178 explains that the user or owner must ensure a suitable written scheme of examination is in place before the system is operated, and that the system is actually examined in line with it. INDG178 lists the typical contents of a scheme, including the items of plant in the system, the parts to be examined, the nature of the examination (including inspection and testing of protective devices), the maximum interval between examinations, the name of the competent person certifying the scheme and the date of certification. It also says the scheme must stay "suitable" throughout the lifetime of the plant, so it should be reviewed and, when necessary, revised.

After each examination, PSSR regulation 9 requires the competent person to make a written report, sign it or add their name to it, date it and send it to the user. It must arrive within 28 days of the examination being completed, or before the date specified in the report for any required repairs, modifications or changes to safe operating limits, whichever is sooner. The report must state which parts were examined, their condition and the results; specify any repairs, modifications or changes to the safe operating limits that are needed, and the date by which they must be done; give the date after which the system may not be operated without a further examination; and say whether the scheme of examination is still suitable.

PSSR regulation 14 then sets out what the user must keep, including:

the last report made by the competent person;
any previous reports that contain information which will materially assist in assessing whether the system is safe to operate, or whether repairs or modifications can be carried out safely; and
certain manufacturers' and suppliers' information about the parts of the system included in the scheme of examination.

For an installed system, regulation 14 says these records must be kept at the premises where the system is installed, or at other premises approved by the enforcing authority. PSSR regulation 2(2) allows records to be kept in a form that can be reproduced as a written copy when required and is secure from loss or unauthorised interference, so a well-controlled electronic file can meet this. Where the user or owner changes, the previous user or owner must give the new one, in writing, anything they kept under regulation 14 as soon as practicable.

Where PSSR does not apply, as on many low-temperature hot water systems, relief valves, expansion vessels and pressurisation units should still be maintained by a competent engineer to the manufacturer's instructions, and those visits recorded like any other service. Our guide to written schemes of examination for heating plant explains when PSSR applies.

What commercial landlords and tenants should agree

GSIUR regulation 35 puts the duty on the employer or self-employed person in respect of gas plant "under his control". In a let commercial building, who controls the boilers and flues usually depends on the lease and on how the building is run, for example whether the landlord runs central plant serving several tenants or each tenant has its own boiler. Agree in writing who arranges servicing and inspections for each item of plant, who holds the records, and how copies are shared. Our landlords and property managers page covers the commercial work we do for property owners.

Regulation 36, the landlord's gas safety check and record, applies to premises occupied for residential purposes under a lease or licence. Its definition of a relevant gas fitting excludes "any gas appliance or installation pipework exclusively used in a part of premises occupied for non-residential purposes". So a purely commercial let is not covered by regulation 36. If a building you own or manage also includes let residential accommodation, take advice on the regulation 36 duties for the fittings serving it, including the requirement to keep each record until there have been two further checks.

What insurers may ask for

Insurers set their own requirements in each policy, so the first step is to read the policy conditions and any survey recommendations, and to ask your broker which records they expect you to keep. Insurers' published risk guidance gives a feel for the kind of records that come up. Two examples from Aviva's loss prevention standards:

Unoccupied premises. Aviva's Unoccupied Premises standard (version 1.4, August 2024) includes checklist questions such as whether insurers have been notified that the premises are unoccupied and, if they have advised measures, whether these have been completed "and any policy conditions complied with", and whether buildings are inspected internally and externally at least weekly, "with formal inspection records maintained". It also says that where a sprinkler installation is permanently charged with water, any heating system should remain operational and set to frost-stat control to maintain a minimum temperature of 4°C at all times.
Escape of water. Aviva's Escape of Water and Other Fluids standard (version 1.6, October 2025) lists "Document site inspections" among the steps for periods when a property is unoccupied, and says that if a prolonged period of unoccupancy is planned, you should notify your insurer or broker for specific advice.

Other insurers will have their own wording. Keeping the records in this guide up to date, dated and signed means you can answer most of these questions from the file rather than from memory. Our frost protection guide covers the heating side of empty-building checks.

What auditors look for

Auditors, whether internal, a client's compliance team or a facilities management contract review, generally want to see that the maintenance you planned matches the maintenance that was done. Two references help here:

SFG20. Created by BESA (the Building Engineering Services Association), SFG20 describes itself as the industry standard for building maintenance specification. Its maintenance schedules are "structured task lists that define what needs maintaining, how often, and by whom", and it colour-codes tasks so that statutory required tasks, which SFG20 says should be completed to ensure legal compliance, are distinguished from tasks that are not legally required but help keep operations running smoothly. If your planned maintenance is built on SFG20 schedules, file the completed visit records against those tasks so an auditor can follow them through.
CIBSE Guide M. CIBSE's Guide M, Maintenance engineering and management (third edition, 2023), is intended to help building and property operators "become more aware of their responsibilities and duties". Its parts include operations and maintenance documentation (M8), risk assessment and risk management (M9), audits (M12), legislation (M14) and training and competency (M16).

A planned preventive maintenance contract is the usual way to turn those schedules into dated visits and records.

How to file heating maintenance records

There is no single required filing system. A simple structure that works for most commercial sites:

Step	What to do
1. Asset list	List each boiler, water heater, warm air or radiant heater, pressurisation unit and any PSSR system, with make, model, serial number and location.
2. One section per asset	Under each asset, file service reports, log book copies, defect notes and remedial work in date order.
3. Site-wide gas records	Keep gas safety inspection records, gas tightness test results and any design or deviation records (for example SDVN calculations under IGEM/UP/10) together.
4. PSSR section	Where PSSR applies, keep the current written scheme, the last examination report and any earlier reports that remain relevant, at the premises (or approved premises) as regulation 14 requires.
5. Site logs	Keep plant room walk-round sheets, gauge readings and lockout records in one place, so the next engineer can see the trend.
6. Contacts and competence	Record each engineer's name, company and Gas Safe registration number, and your contract and emergency contact details.
7. Review	Set a date to check the file: are any services, inspections or PSSR examinations overdue, and are any defects still open?

For the paperwork to expect from each boiler visit, see our guide to what a commercial boiler service includes.

Between visits: what site staff can record

Trained site staff can keep the site logs that make the file useful: walking the plant room, keeping ventilation openings clear, logging pressure gauge readings against the range the engineer has set, and noting the time, fault code and what else was running if a boiler locks out. They should report anything abnormal and should not adjust burners, controls or relief valves, or keep resetting a boiler that has locked out. Our commercial plant room safety checklist and our guide to reading a commercial heating pressure gauge cover those checks.

If you suspect a gas leak, HSE says to turn off the supply and phone the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 (for LPG, your LPG supplier), and not to turn the gas back on until the leak has been dealt with by a competent person. Do not use any appliance you know or suspect is unsafe.

Boiler service record sheet: what each entry should show

The service record is the document people ask for most, and it is the one most often incomplete. A tick-box sheet that just says "serviced" tells an insurer or auditor very little. Whether your engineer uses paper, an app or a log book supplied with the boiler, each visit should leave a record that covers the points below. If yours does not, ask for it to be added at the next visit.

Section of the record	What it should show	Why it matters
Site and appliance	Site address, plant room or location, make, model and serial number of each appliance	Ties the record to one boiler, so it cannot be confused with another on the same site
Engineer and competence	Engineer name, company, Gas Safe registration number and, ideally, the ID card number	Shows the work was done by someone registered for commercial gas work
Work carried out	Service tasks done, parts replaced, cleaning, and anything left incomplete and why	Proves the service was more than a visual check
Readings	Flue gas analyser readings, burner and inlet gas pressures, and any flow or return temperatures taken	Gives a baseline, so the next engineer can see if combustion is drifting
Safety checks	Flue and ventilation checks, flame failure and safety device tests, gas tightness where tested	These are the checks that relate most directly to the legal duty to maintain in a safe condition
Defects and actions	Any defect found, its classification under the Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure where relevant, and the action taken or advised	Open defects are what insurers and auditors look for first
Next steps	Date the next service is due, recommended repairs and who was told	Keeps the file current and shows that advice was passed on
Sign-off	Engineer signature or electronic authentication, and the date the record was issued	Shows the record is genuine and when it was made

A ten-minute check before renewal or an audit

Pick each appliance on your asset list and find its last service record. Note any that are missing or more than 12 months old.
Check the engineer's Gas Safe registration number is on every gas record, and spot-check it on the Gas Safe Register.
Look for defects marked on recent records and confirm each one has a matching repair record or a written reason why it is still open.
Make sure readings have actually been filled in, not left blank.
Check the dates of the next service, gas safety inspection and any PSSR examination are in someone's diary.

Gaps found this way are far easier to deal with before a renewal or audit than after a claim. If services are overdue, our planned maintenance keeps every appliance on one schedule, and lockout records kept by site staff fit alongside the service file; see our boiler lockout log sheet.

Where Fast Commercial Boiler Help fits

Our Gas Safe registered engineers carry out commercial gas safety inspections, commercial boiler servicing and planned preventive maintenance for commercial heating plant. When you book, tell us which records your insurer, landlord or auditor has asked for, so the visit can be planned around them. Where PSSR applies, the examination itself is carried out by the competent person named under your written scheme. Where oil-fired plant is fitted, our engineers who work on oil are OFTEC trained.

Safety note

Under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, gas work must be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and we apply that rule on every site. Don't attempt DIY work on gas appliances, burners, flues or safety devices. On pressure systems, trained site staff should stick to visual and gauge checks, log the readings and report anything abnormal. Never adjust, cap, plug or test-lift a relief valve yourself.

Talk to a Gas Safe commercial engineer

Fast Commercial Boiler Help is a Gas Safe registered (985448) commercial heating business based at 4 Market Hill, Clare, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 8NN. Our team of over 10 local engineers covers East Anglia and East London, working on commercial boilers, plant rooms, water heaters, and warm air, radiant and unit heaters. We work on commercial premises only.

Call 0800 0996 007

Call or WhatsApp 07947 578332 (a photo of the appliance data plate or the fault display helps) · Email [email protected]

Frequently asked questions

What heating maintenance records do insurers ask for?

It depends on the policy, so read the policy conditions and any survey recommendations and ask your broker. The records most often relevant are service reports and log book entries for each appliance, gas safety inspection records, defect notices and remedial work, PSSR written schemes and examination reports where PSSR applies, and site inspection logs. Aviva's Unoccupied Premises loss prevention standard, for example, asks whether buildings are inspected at least weekly with formal inspection records maintained.

Is a gas safety certificate a legal requirement for a commercial building?

GSIUR regulation 35 requires employers and self-employed people to keep gas appliances, installation pipework and flues at places of work under their control maintained in a safe condition, but it does not prescribe a certificate format. Dated service and inspection records are how you show that maintenance has been done. The landlord's gas safety record in regulation 36 applies to premises let for residential purposes, not to appliances used exclusively in non-residential parts.

What PSSR records must be kept?

Where PSSR applies, regulation 14 requires the user of an installed system to keep the last examination report by the competent person, any previous reports that materially help assess whether the system is safe to operate or can be safely repaired or modified, and certain manufacturers' information about the parts in the scheme. They must be kept at the premises where the system is installed or at other premises approved by the enforcing authority.

How long should heating maintenance records be kept?

There is no single period for all heating records. Under PSSR the last examination report must be kept, plus earlier reports that still contain material information. Regulation 36 of GSIUR, for residential lets, requires each landlord's gas safety record to be kept until there have been two further checks. For other commercial records, we suggest keeping the full history for the life of the plant, so engineers and auditors can see trends.

Who keeps the records in a let commercial building?

GSIUR regulation 35 places the duty on whoever has the gas plant under their control, which in a let building usually depends on the lease and how the plant is run. Agree in writing who arranges servicing and inspections and who holds the records. Under PSSR regulation 14, when the user or owner of a pressure system changes, the previous one must pass on the records in writing as soon as practicable.

What should a commercial boiler service record sheet include?

At least the site and appliance details (make, model, serial number and location), the date, the engineer's name and Gas Safe registration number, the work done, the combustion and gas pressure readings taken, the safety checks made, any defects with their classification and what was done, and when the next service is due. It should be signed or otherwise authenticated by the engineer.

Are digital service records acceptable to insurers?

Generally, yes, provided each record is complete, dated, attributable to the engineer and can be produced when asked. Check your policy wording or ask your broker if you are unsure. Keep a backup and make sure more than one person on site can find the files.

What should we do if an old service record is missing?

Ask the contractor who did the work for a copy, as most keep their own records. If it cannot be found, do not create a replacement after the event. Note the gap in your file, and make sure the next service and gas safety inspection are fully recorded so the history is complete from that point.

Sources and further reading