Stupid Landlady Alert!

N79

Ricky

Please get a grip on your gas certificate NOW! Please arrange for one today. British Gas will do it. You are not compentant to declare that it is safe (unless you are a Corgi registered plumber). There is no excuse for this one. This is a legal requirement.

Yes the NLA has lots of good info and a helpline that you can call.

sooz

Ricky33 wrote: »

I don't have the LL gas certificate - but it is safe, and covered by British Gas, and as such subject to an annual check.

As N79 says - organise this TODAY. It's after 3 now, but find a corgi registered plumber that can do this tomorrow. Don't forget to give the tenants 24 hours notice - so 4.30 tomorrow should do, & email them about it immediatly. You must give your tenants a copy, & you or your agent keep the other copy.




The T is after council housing, he told me from the start that he would stay only until he received it. So the long-haul looks like it'll be my deal. I feel really bad for him, he has a child - but I simply don't earn enough to pay for both my rent and the mortgage.

[Can't find the smilie that is banging his head against a brick wall! ]
You are in for the long haul. Court then bailiffs. Sadly, this is the only way to get a council house - he cannot make himself intentionally homeless, & must stay until the bitter end.
Once you've organised the gas safety, then join the NLA. You can do it online, and it's £85 for the first year - £70 thereafter.
You need to get your paperwork exactly right.

N79

Maybe I was not being totally clear when I said "Please arrange for one today" I meant make the arrangement today not get the inspection done today. As Sooz says get it done tomorrow. Don't dig further by breaking your Ts right to quiet enjoyment as well as everything else.

Ts die because of this and LLs can and do get prosecuted. I'm sorry if I sound a little tense on this one but two acquaintances of mine from my college at university died because a LL did not do this.

I didn't realise that the NLA was more expensive in the first year but then I have been a member for ages.

Ricky33

Calling British Gas right now and T tonight (he has no email) - you're both invaluable - yet more thanks, I'm appalled at this situation and will fix today. Just to be clear the entire gas and electricity connection to the flat, including boiler, are checked and certified every year by British Gas certified engineer - so no one is in any more danger than I would be myself if I were living there. I'm sorry to have raised a horribly sensitive issue...

N79

Ricky

Sorry if I sounded a little harsh and I'm glad that you are trying to put things right. There is no legal requirement to conduct any electrical checks so you are well ahead of your obligations there. (You only have your duty of care obligations). I suppose the irony is that British Gas would have issued you with a certification after the last service my engineer does not charge a seperate fee for the certificate) if you had only asked them!

Are you now back in the UK?

I ask because I am suddenly wondering if you are also in breach of the LL and T act (S48 to be exact). This might well cause a judge to reject an S21 application, even if the notice is worded correctly. They shouldn't, but they might.

Ricky33

No worries, completely understood.

No, I'm not in the UK - I can't come back that quickly, unfortunately due to excessive work commitments. Also due to this reason I've not had time to either register with the LL association yet, nor investigate LL&T act S48. The last thing I need right now is to lose my job, that would really put the cat amongst the pigeons! Feel like I'm caught between the devil and the deep blue

N79

Ok - so you live outside the UK. This, in itself is not a problem but you will need to travel to the UK for any court hearings or employ a solicitor to act on your behalf. Have you served notice on your T giving them a servable UK address? You might have done this in the Tenancy agreement or at the same time.

By law, specifically L&T Act 1985, you have to give your T an address in the UK that they can use to issue legal proceedings against you. This address can be any address at which you can be served papers. It could be your agent's, your family or even your solicitor's. The important thing is that the T has such an address.

Without such an address your T does not have to pay rent! Obviously for UK based LL this address is normally the address given in the Tenancy agreement. For overseas LL it is important that such an address is given, especially if an overseas address has been used in the Tenancy agreement (which in itself is a very bad idea but you have done worse to date so I thought it worth checking:rolleyes: - I hope you don't mind this little joke)

Ricky33

LOL, no offence taken N79, it's clear I deserve a whole lot more than that You've been such a help! Sooz too, obviously

Yay, I've done ONE thing right!!! T has my parents address on the original contract, and has done since the start! In fact, he's had quite a bit of contact with my father, as T agreed to keep the garden tidy and hasn't, and the neighbours complained! Not that I'm moaning, I'm the bad guy here, no argument from me on that front...

British Gas are making an appointment direct with T - and I will call him tonight also, to let him know to expect the letter. They confirmed that with my current contract with them, it is the legality that's the problem, not the safety angle for T (huge relief).

Once more with the 'huge thank you'...

pinkshoes

Ricky33 wrote: »

The T is after council housing, he told me from the start that he would stay only until he received it.

sooz wrote: »

You are in for the long haul. Court then bailiffs. Sadly, this is the only way to get a council house - he cannot make himself intentionally homeless, & must stay until the bitter end.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought non-payment of rent is classified as making yourself intentionally homeless, which is why Ricky33 has the problem in the first place?

sooz

pinkshoes wrote: »

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought non-payment of rent is classified as making yourself intentionally homeless, which is why Ricky33 has the problem in the first place?

True - which is why it will be easier for both parties if she were to get him out via a section 21. If she were to try to regain possession under a section 8, the T would almost certainly be advised to make token payments to remain under 2 months arrears, invalidating the section 8 notice.