Terms and conditions for a gas engineer

A gas engineer's terms have to deal with the visit that ends in a disconnection rather than a repair, the boiler priced before the case came off, the tenant who is not in when you arrive, and the manufacturer warranty that depends on servicing nobody booked. I draft customer terms around how your business actually works, for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Registered gas engineers and heating businesses in England and Wales, whether you trade as a sole trader or a limited company, covering servicing, breakdowns, repairs, appliance and boiler installation and landlord safety checks. Most of you sell to homeowners, who are consumers, and also to landlords, letting agents, housing providers and commercial premises. One set of terms can cover both if it is drafted with the differences in mind.

What matters in a gas engineer's terms

Diagnosis, quotes and the job you have to stop

You rarely know the price before the case is off the appliance. The terms should charge for attendance and diagnosis separately from the repair, treat any figure given beforehand as an estimate, and require written agreement to parts and further work before it goes ahead. They also need to deal with the visit that ends in the gas being turned off rather than the fault being fixed. Gas work may only be carried out by an engineer registered under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, so your terms should say you will not recommission work you cannot verify.

What a service covers, and what it does not

Customers merge servicing, safety checks and repairs into one idea and then complain when the boiler fails afterwards. Set out what each visit includes, which components you inspect and which you do not, and that the paperwork records the condition of the appliance on the day rather than guaranteeing it against later failure. Say that faults in pipework, flues and systems installed by others fall outside your responsibility unless you are paid to put them right, and that a further quote follows if you find work that was never part of the booking.

Landlords, letting agents and no-access visits

Where a letting agent instructs you on a landlord's behalf, the terms should name who is liable for the invoice and require the agent to confirm that it contracts as principal. Whether a landlord counts as a consumer turns on the facts under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, so the terms should not assume either way. Build in a charge for the visit where the tenant does not let you in, and an obligation on the customer to arrange access and notify tenants. Business customers who pay late can be charged interest and compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

Call-outs, emergencies and consumer cancellation rights

A repair agreed at the customer's door or over the phone is an off-premises or distance contract under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, which gives the consumer a right to cancel. Start work inside that period without the customer's express request and you may not be paid for what you have done, and where the cancellation information was never given the period runs on far longer than you would want. There is an exception for urgent repairs the consumer asked for, covering that work only, so your booking process has to capture the request and the acknowledgement in writing.

Appliances, parts and manufacturer warranties

Where you supply the boiler or the parts, the terms should say when risk and ownership pass, and be realistic that a retention of title clause achieves little once an appliance is plumbed and flued into the property. They should also separate your workmanship guarantee from the manufacturer's cover, which commonly depends on the installation being registered and on the appliance being serviced at the intervals the manufacturer sets. Say who notifies the installation where that is required under the Building Regulations, and record that cover is lost if servicing is skipped or another engineer works on the appliance.

Carbon monoxide, liability caps and insurance

This is the trade where the liability clause earns its place. Liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence cannot be excluded, under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 against business customers and under consumer legislation against homeowners, and no drafting changes that. What the terms can do is cap liability for property damage and financial loss to business customers at a level your insurance supports, exclude consequential losses such as lost rent or lost trading, and record the cover you carry. A cap that ignores what your policy pays is worse than no cap at all.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted around your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want to know how much of a problem they are. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of terms drafted around your business, not a template with your name inserted
• A covering note in plain English explaining every commercial choice I made and why, so you can defend the terms in a negotiation without ringing me
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions set at a level that will survive a procurement review
• Consumer-facing wording drafted to be enforceable where you sell to consumers
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly, which is where most businesses actually fail
• One round of amendments after you have read them

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country

Questions I am often asked

What can I charge if I have to make an appliance safe rather than repair it?

Whatever your terms say you can charge, provided the customer agreed to it before you attended. Price attendance and diagnosis as their own item, payable whatever the outcome, and set out separately what disconnecting, labelling and issuing the paperwork costs. Customers accept this on a booking confirmation and argue about it when it first appears on the invoice.

Do I need separate terms for service plans and for one-off work?

One set of terms can carry both, if the recurring arrangement sits in its own section dealing with what each visit includes, how payments are collected, how either side ends the plan and what happens to money already paid. Rules on consumer subscription contracts are being introduced under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, so plan wording deserves proper attention.

The customer says the fault was there before I touched it. Does that help me?

It helps only where your terms and your records support it. The terms should require the customer to disclose previous work and known faults, allow you to record the system as found, and state that you answer for the work you carry out rather than the installation you inherited. Photographs and written job records do the rest of the work.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Consultancy and contractor agreements, £595
• Employment contracts and handbooks, £595
• Terms and conditions for a plumbing and heating business
• Terms and conditions for a heat pump installer

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.