The short answer
F-Gas leak checking is one of the few compliance intervals set by legislation rather than guidance, and it is not a fixed period — it is calculated from the CO2 equivalent of the refrigerant charge in each individual system. Five tonnes CO2e or more requires a check at least every twelve months, fifty tonnes at least every six, and five hundred tonnes at least every three with an automatic leak detection system fitted. Where such a system is installed, each of those periods doubles. The duty sits with the operator of the equipment, which is normally the building owner or occupier — not the maintenance contractor.
F-Gas is the mirror image of the rest of this section. Elsewhere the problem is guidance being quoted as law; here a genuine legal interval gets treated as somebody else’s business. Two things follow. The duty stays with you when the maintenance contract changes hands, and an interval you cannot state from memory is an interval you probably are not meeting — because it depends on a charge figure most duty holders have never been given.
What is required, and where it comes from
- Legal requirement
Check equipment containing five tonnes CO2 equivalent or more of fluorinated gas for leaks at least every twelve months.
Source: Retained Regulation (EU) No 517/2014, Article 4; Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Regulations 2015
Extending to twenty-four months where a working automatic leak detection system is fitted.
- Legal requirement
Fifty tonnes CO2 equivalent or more: at least every six months. Five hundred tonnes or more: at least every three months, and an automatic leak detection system is mandatory.
Source: Retained Regulation (EU) No 517/2014, Articles 4 and 5
Each interval doubles where a leak detection system is fitted — and the detection system itself must then be checked at least every twelve months.
- Legal requirement
Hermetically sealed equipment holding less than ten tonnes CO2 equivalent and labelled as hermetically sealed is outside the leak checking requirement.
Source: Retained Regulation (EU) No 517/2014, Article 4(2)
An exemption in the legislation, not an assumption to start from. You still need the charge figure to know it applies.
- Legal requirement
Repair any detected leak without undue delay, and re-check the system within one month of the repair.
Source: Retained Regulation (EU) No 517/2014, Article 3
- Legal requirement
Keep records for each system: charge quantity and type, gas added or recovered, checks carried out and by whom. Retain them for at least five years.
Source: Retained Regulation (EU) No 517/2014, Article 6
- Legal requirement
Installation, servicing, leak checking and recovery must be carried out by certificated personnel, and companies doing this work on stationary equipment must hold company certification.
Source: Retained Regulation (EU) No 517/2014, Article 10; Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Regulations 2015
- Legal requirement
Recover refrigerant properly when equipment is decommissioned, rather than venting it.
Source: Retained Regulation (EU) No 517/2014, Article 8
- Typical practice
Leak checks are usually run on the same visit as planned maintenance, which is efficient but lets the interval drift past its legal maximum whenever a visit slips.
Source: Common industry practice
The legal interval is a ceiling, not a target. A schedule that aims exactly at it has no margin.
- Risk-based
Great Britain retains the 2014 regime. The European Union replaced it in 2024 and Northern Ireland follows the EU rules, so an estate spanning both needs its Northern Irish sites assessed separately.
Source: Assimilated law position, Great Britain
Worth confirming before assuming one refrigerant policy covers the whole of the UK.
What proves it was done
Compliance is demonstrated with records, not intentions. These are the documents an enforcing authority, an insurer or a purchaser’s solicitor will ask for.
- An asset register listing every system, its refrigerant type, and its charge in both kilograms and tonnes CO2e
- The F-Gas logbook or equivalent record for each system, retained for at least five years
- Certification details for the personnel and the company carrying out the work
- Test records for any leak detection system relied on to extend an interval
- Repair records showing the one-month re-check was carried out
- End-of-life recovery documentation for decommissioned plant
Where this usually goes wrong
- Assuming the duty sits with the air conditioning contractor because they hold the certification
- No charge figures on record, so nobody can say which interval applies to which system
- One interval set for a whole site, when the calculation is made system by system
- A leak detection system used to justify a longer interval, but never itself tested
- Leaks topped up repeatedly rather than repaired, which is a breach as well as a false economy
- Records not handed over when the maintenance contract changes provider, breaking the five-year trail
What happens if it is missed
The Environment Agency regulates in England, with SEPA in Scotland and Natural Resources Wales in Wales. Enforcement runs from information notices through to civil penalties, and published guidance puts the maximum civil penalty at £200,000. The commercial exposure is usually larger than the regulatory one: an uncontrolled leak is a plant failure in progress, refrigerant is expensive to replace, and a system that keeps losing charge is telling you something about its remaining life.
This page is general information about compliance obligations in commercial property, not legal advice. Legislation cited applies to England and Wales unless stated; Scotland and Northern Ireland differ, particularly on fire safety. Duty holders should confirm their position against current legislation and a competent assessment of their own premises.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common inquiries regarding contract scopes, SLAs, compliance audits, and onboarding.
It depends on the CO2 equivalent charge of each system rather than on the calendar. Five tonnes CO2e or more requires checks at least every twelve months, fifty tonnes at least every six months, and five hundred tonnes at least every three months with an automatic leak detection system fitted. Where a working leak detection system is installed, each of those periods doubles.
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