Gas Cert expired!!!!

michmrsh1973

I was wondering if anybody , could tell me where i stand. I was renting a 3 bedroom house with which the gas cert expired in Nov 09. I emailed the agency 6 Dec 09 to let them know that boiler was leaking water & that i wanted it sorted straight away, with which they replied they will call gas man to come & do service & gas cert on it. 16 Dec 09 no one had still come out or contacted me so i rang them & they said they would ring gas man straight away to find out what he was playing at, also at this time the water was near pouring out of Boiler.

Gas man rang me on 21 Dec 09 to say that he was now off work due to xmas & that he will call me the week later to make arrangements. I heard nothing from anyone despite me leaving messages on gas mans phone & agency would not answer my calls. On 6 Jan 10 the boiler completley packed up, no hot water or heating i rang agency & told them i wanted someone out that day. but 6 days it took someone to come out. By this time i had to buy electric heaters & boil water on my electric stove. The gas man decided to condem the boiler, but he tighten all bolts up to stop leaks, he left it switched on at mains to dry it out. 2 days later another gas company came out who took 2 bolts of front cover of boiler said it had dried out. When i asked how long it will last he said "Suck it & see". No gas cert done.

I did contact HSE who advised me on the cert & that any monies i should not pay due to house not being in a rentable condition. I looked for another house with which i explained problems i was having & they were happy to take my custom.

The agency actually came to my old house to find out why i hadn't paid the rent with which i explained again that with no gas cert i wasn't payer, his words were well i assumed the gas cert had been done!!!!

In the meantime i received an eviction letter from the agency. I am now settled in my new home however i am getting threating phones calls & letters from the agencys Debt Collector, i sent a letter to the agency with the keys recorded delivery which they refused to collect & was returned to me unopened. I have refused to answer calls nowfrom Debt Collector i told them i will only correspond via email or letter.

I have also been back in contact with HSE who contacted the agency & made sure they supply them with an upto date Gas cert.

However i now dont know what to do or where to turn. Hopefully someone can help me:mad::mad::mad:

moromir

michmrsh1973 wrote: »

I did contact HSE who advised me on the cert & that any monies i should not pay due to house not being in a rentable condition.

Do you have this in writing from them?

michmrsh1973

moromir wrote: »

Do you have this in writing from them?

What the eviction? Or what HSE said, i dont have in writing but it is on the website & even under the Landlord rules.

moromir

michmrsh1973 wrote: »

What the eviction? Or what HSE said, i dont have in writing but it is on the website & even under the Landlord rules.

I think you need to take legal advice before you even think of withholding rent.

clutton_2

how much did you withold ?

Has the tenancy now finished ?

MissMoneypenny

Did you have contents insurance on your last house and if you did, did you take out the optional extra of Legal Cover (sometimes called Family Cover) on that policy? It would have been about another £18 - £21 on your yearly contents policy.

If you did have Legal Cover, look on the policy booklet to see if they excluded 'taking action against or defending yourself, against a landlord". If they haven't, then phone your insurers and ask for a Legal Cover Claim Form. Once you get confirmation they will take your case, they will appoint a solicitor/barrister who specialises in housing law, to deal with this matter for you.

michmrsh1973

Yes Landlord had permision as himself & son took house on on joint mortgage to rent out. I have been in contact now with my contents insurance company & they are sending paperwork out.
I have also spoke to Debt collectors who know have listened to what i have to say & read a copy of letter i sent agency, which they refused to collect from Post office, reckon that they actually owe me my deposit money back plus expences. They saw all phone bills which also had texts on & my emails sent & received to agency & they reckon the way i have been treated is unfair as i gave them every oppurtunity to come out & do gas certificate.

I witheld 5 months rent & i moved out 4wks ago but they wanted me to vacate the premises by the 23/4/10. They have since moved new people into the house dispite the fact refusing letter & keys, so they broke into property as it is in my name still. Debt collector have stated that i could get them charged for breaking in. All of this they are sending in post & via email to confirm all they say.

I also have my union from work involved in this matter who have wrote to agency & they have not reponded after 6wks.

clutton_2

with-holding 5 months rent ????? you should have read Shelter's website as to the careful process you should go to in order to legally be able to with-hold rent. Its my understaning that with-holding rent is so that you can effect repairs with the money which you with-held... did you fix the boiler wiht the rent money ?

if the certificate expired in November and you moved out in March this means that you have been with-holding rent for all that time.. and that is just completely unreasonable.... as attempts were being made, albeit slowly, by your LLs to fix the problem... it is always difficult to get good workmen in during the festive season as this country seems to shut down for 2 whole weeks.....

your LL may have a case to take you to court for non payment of rent....

why would you want to take professional legal advice from debt collectors - or even us here on a forum where anyone can post ?

Fire_Fox

There is a major difference between not paying rent and unilaterally terminating the contract. Why are you dealing with the Health and Safety Executive and not Environmental Health at the local council? Like Clutton I am concerned you are taking legal advice from completely the wrong people - HSE have advised you to breach your contract by withholding rent!

Without heating and hot water the house is not in a habitable condition, which means you could possibly have moved out and not paid rent (in fact the landlord should have provided heating and hot water OR rehoused you), if you are living in the house you are obliged to pay rent.

Other than the recorded delivery letter that was not collected, do you have any written record of these events? Did you attempt to contact the landlord directly? Have you written (NOT e-mailed) to the debt collectors, or has all this been done by telephone?

clutton_2

""so they broke into property as it is in my name still.""

but you dont live there any more and you have not paid any rent for 5 months...

what exactly is it that you want ?

EVEN if the court awards you 3 times the deposit back.. your landlord could put in a counter claim for 5 months upaid rent....

there is much more to this than we are being told methinks....

what do you think your union knows about landlord and tenant legislation ???