gas safety certificate - error

krazykidskate

I'm renting a house with my family and when we moved in the letting agents sent a plumber to the gas safety check which he did very quickly and didn't mention any problems. However when we received our copy of the certificate it stated that the gas fire was not safe to use. There is a box for the assessor to write Yes/No whether the appliance is safe to use and it says 'No'. The letting agent investigated and says the plumber wrote 'No' by error and it should say 'Yes' and that we should go ahead and use the gas fire anyway. I have asked if I can have this in writing or the certificate corrected but I am just fobbed off.

I have asked three times and am just told it was a simple error and the fire is OK. Am I being a jobsworth wanting this in writing? I don't want to kick up too much fuss as I love the house I'm renting and don't want to be seen as a pain and not allowed to renew my contract. Not sure where I'd esculate this problem to anyway? Any thoughts please?

princeofpounds

No, you are not being a jobsworth. Not doing this properly can land you with a fine and jail (the latter unlikely unless you actually injure someone).

Sounds to me like the letting agency has somehow ballsed up here, and is either unwilling to let you know of a problem for some reason, or unwilling to get the plumber to correct his mistake.

If it is the latter, then the plumber should get off his behind and resubmit the form. If the former you need to be quite worried about your agent.

I suggest you escalate to the manager of the letting agents, insist on speaking to the plumber (after all, YOU hired him, not the agency), and on getting the problem fixed.

Under law it is not enough to do the checks, you also have to give a copy to the tenant. They are not going to be happy if they spot this mistake.

I am assuming that the 'plumber' was gassafe registered? (CORGI you might know it as). If not, he should never have been employed in the first place.

ginvzt

princeofpounds wrote: »

I suggest you escalate to the manager of the letting agents, insist on speaking to the plumber (after all, YOU hired him, not the agency), and on getting the problem fixed.

Under law it is not enough to do the checks, you also have to give a copy to the tenant. They are not going to be happy if they spot this mistake.

I am assuming that the 'plumber' was gassafe registered? (CORGI you might know it as). If not, he should never have been employed in the first place.

I think OP is the tenant, not the landlord as I read his post. So it is not him who hired the plumber, but the agent/landlord, and he has to receive a copy of the certificate, not give it to the tenant.

If you have received a copy and it states that gas fire is not safe, I would send a recorded letter to the agent requesting for the date when the gas fire will be fixed to make it safe. If this item was in the inventory list and listed in good condition (working), they have a responsibility to maintain it.

princeofpounds

Oh man, I don't even begin to understand why I read it so wrong.

OK, what you need to do is send recorded delivery letter to the landlord, copying in the agent, include a photocopy of the certificate.

Point out that the appliance has been recorded unsafe, and you wish to know when it will be fixed, or when a gassafe-registered technician will be sent to re-evaluate and issue a new certificate. Remind them that proper records of gas safety is their responsibility under the Landlord and Tenant Act and that you wouldn't want them to get into trouble with the council as the result of an adminstrative error.

If nothing happens, then you should go to your council private sectors rental team to request intermediation. If still nothing happens then the council can bring in environmental health who will enforce the repair and if necessary prosecute the landlord. (It should never get that far).

Emmzi

otoh if it is actually *unsafe* they disconnect it. May be more 'not proven' - eg they need to lift floorboards to check flue etc for a final sign off.

krazykidskate

Thanks for the advice i will send a letter as suggested. I can't copy the landlord as she is in Canada and I don't have contact details for her just the letting agent. Or should I ask the letting agent to forward a copy to her?

N79

krazykidskate wrote: »

Thanks for the advice i will send a letter as suggested. I can't copy the landlord as she is in Canada and I don't have contact details for her just the letting agent. Or should I ask the letting agent to forward a copy to her?

You should have an address, within England and Wales, for serving notices on the LL (Called a Section 48 address). Use that. It may well be the agents address and it may have been "served" on you via (as part of) the tenancy agreement.

theartfullodger

Thanks for the advice i will send a letter as suggested. I can't copy the landlord as she is in Canada and I don't have contact details for her just the letting agent. Or should I ask the letting agent to forward a copy to her?

Interesting:

Two key bits of legislation on LLs addresses & then the tax issue...

a)

"Landlord and Tenant Act 1985"
"Section 1"

• Full name & Address of Landlord
• If the tenant does not receive a reply within the 21 day period, s/he can inform the Tenancy Relations Officer (TRO) at the local authority. The TRO will investigate the case and can prosecute the person who has not provided the information.

the wording in the act is..

1 Disclosure of landlord’s identity

(1)If the tenant of premises occupied as a dwelling makes a written request for the landlord’s name and address to—
(a)any person who demands, or the last person who received, rent payable under the tenancy, or
(b)any other person for the time being acting as agent for the landlord, in relation to the tenancy,
that person shall supply the tenant with a written statement of the landlord’s name and address within the period of 21 days beginning with the day on which he receives the request.
(2)A person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with subsection (1) commits a summary offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.
(3)In this section and section 2—
(a)“tenant” includes a statutory tenant; and
(b)“landlord” means the immediate landlord.

- and for LATA 1985 the address is the actual address, not some PO box or c/o the agency...

and b)

landlord & Tenant Act 1987 section 48...

48 Notification by landlord of address for service of notices

(1)A landlord of premises to which this Part applies shall by notice furnish the tenant with an address in England and Wales at which notices (including notices in proceedings) may be served on him by the tenant.
(2)Where a landlord of any such premises fails to comply with subsection (1), any rent or service charge otherwise due from the tenant to the landlord shall (subject to subsection (3)) be treated for all purposes as not being due from the tenant to the landlord at any time before the landlord does comply with that subsection.
(3)Any such rent or service charge shall not be so treated in relation to any time when, by virtue of an order of any court, there is in force an appointment of a receiver or manager whose functions include the receiving of rent or (as the case may be) service charges from the tenant.

- so the address for LATA 1987 can be c/o the agency.. But, no address for LATA 1987 and the rent is not due (no, really!).

Finally c)
HMRC non-resident landlord regulations..
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/CNR/nr_landlords.htm
- which says unless LL has agreed with HMRC 22% of tax must be withheld by tenant or agency... as agency if they are withholding...

Cheers!

Lodger



If you don't have

clutton_2

As a LL i would first of all phone the gas engineer - his contact details on the form - and ask him what the problem is.... he will talk to you

if he is a qualified gas engineer, registered with GASSAFE (his registration number should be on your certificate) he should have put a sticker on the fire if it was unsafe... If he has accidentally put no when he meant yes, he will have no trouble sending you a new form.. if he wont... contact GASSAFE...