Tenant ignoring contact and refusing entry for gas safety check. WWYD?

[WeAreEternal]

The gas safety check was due a month ago on one of my properties, I have been trying to contact the tenant for two months to arrange a convenient time to send someone round.

He has ignored several letters and all voicemails and phone calls.

Finally I told him that if he did not respond I would send someone round on a certain day, and that I would appreciate if he could make himself available. I also confirmed this with a voicemail. But still had no response.

So I sent round the gas man/plumper but the tenant did not answer the door or was not in.

I then told the tenant that I was going to send the plumber round with my spare keys to access the boiler himself.

When he got to the house he could clearly see someone inside and the tv on through the net curtains, so he knocked but there was no answer.
He tried to use the spare keys to open the door but they didn't work. It's possible that the tenant had changed the locks (on both front and back doors) but more likely that the keys were just in the lock on the inside, in his opinion.

Has anyone been in this situation? Does anyone have any advice?

Other than this issue he has been a good tenant, he always pays he rent on time and has been no trouble.

[nocake]

Tricky one because you have no right to force entry. All you can do is threaten to apply to the courts for an injunction that grants you access. However, I'm pretty sure you can't be prosecuted for not having a gas certificate if you can demonstrate that you've made every reasonable attempt to get one.

[RCheshire]

As per nocake. You can't go in/tell your plumber to enter without permission as there's no immediate danger to the property/life/neighbours.

You could issue a Section 8 (under whichever grounds it is that relates to non-compliance with the contract - assuming the contract says you should have access) to evict them and that would probably provoke a response.

[MrsTaraPlumbing]

The HSE are responsible for the Gas Regs, which require an annual safety inspection.
The HSE response to your problem can be found here:
www.hse.gov.uk/gas/landlords/dealing.htm#information
and is as per nocake said.

It makes me wonder why the tenant is not allowing access - have they got something to hide in there.