Gas Leak in Rented Property

Mich81

I'm not sure whether this is the correct part of the forum - please move if neccessary.

We've just moved into a rented terraced house 2 weeks ago.

On the weekend of the move, I fell ill and was vomiting etc, thought I had food poisoning. The day after, the landlord sent someone round to check the gas boiler - which if I've read correctly should've been done before we moved in?

It turned out there was 3 gas leaks, 2 directly beneath my bed - which I thought explained the vomiting as it only started 1/2 hour after going to bed - and when I dragged myself into work I (not surprisingly in hindsight) started to feel better.

The flooring in the bedroom was ripped up, so all my things are still boxed up etc and I had nowhere to sleep.

The room is now recarpeted - however there's still a strong smell of gas in the house. My mum and brother, and dog & cat have now been vomiting too - we've called the emergency gasline, and they've confirmed there's a bad leak in the boiler (I think he said the K-seal?) and has turned off the gas.

Where do we stand now with the landlord? As far as I'm concerned the house is not fit for habitation - and he had a responsibility to have checked this out before we moved in. We now have no hot water, or heating and have all been ill :mad:

Any advice on this situation would be appreciated.

RAS

Have any of you been to get medical check ups?

Jowo_2

It is a legal obligation of a landlord to ensure that they provide a gas safety certificate, renewed on an annual basis, to their tenants and a criminal offence not to have one. The landlord risks prosecution and the payment of compensation through a civil suit from you. If the landlord did not provide a valid gas safety certificate to you on the outset of your tenancy, contact the local environmental health department to report the landlord's negligence which could have resorted in the death of your family.

Contact Shelter asap to understand your rights.

Mich81

RAS wrote: »

Have any of you been to get medical check ups?

I went after I was first ill - but because I'd been out of the house for a few hours, and we thought the leak has been sorted, my GP just checked me over.

My mum as it happens, had to go for a routine blood test anyway today (she has rheumatoid arthritis) so she's contacting the doctors to see if they can also check for gas in her blood (?) as the man from the emergency gasline said that was the only way of proving it was in her system.

I'm more concerned about the ramifications of my mums health at the moment, she's been ill for a couple of days which means she's missed her regular medication as she was unable to keep anything down.

Mich81

Jowo wrote: »

It is a legal obligation of a landlord to ensure that they provide a gas safety certificate, renewed on an annual basis, to their tenants and a criminal offence not to have one. The landlord risks prosecution and the payment of compensation through a civil suit from you. If the landlord did not provide a valid gas safety certificate to you on the outset of your tenancy, contact the local environmental health department to report the landlord's negligence which could have resorted in the death of your family.

Contact Shelter asap to understand your rights.

I thought that - I think the man from the Gas Company is going to report him too as he took all his details down. I'm printing off some information now from HSE's website so when the landlord comes round I know our rights.

The landlord seems to be treating this as a major inconvenience, the first time we called to ask if he could send someone to check the gas he asked could we wait until the day after, and now when we call he sigh's as if to say oh you lot again :mad:

Jowo_2

The reason why the gas safety certificate is a legal requirement for landlords is because dozens of people used to die of carbon monoxide poisoning or gas leasks in the UK each year. last year 18 people died and 310 were injured in the UK last year from gas leaks, fires, explosions and carbon monoxide poisoning. (I would assume this spans owner occupiers, too, not just rented accommodation).

Your negligent landlord will soon find out that complying with it isn't just a mere inconvenience but something that is essential to stop him from killing his tenants and getting a criminal record.

Here is a link so you can understand his full obligation to you and the consequences of not complying.

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/gas_safety.htm

lynzpower

Mich81 wrote: »

I went after I was first ill - but because I'd been out of the house for a few hours, and we thought the leak has been sorted, my GP just checked me over.

My mum as it happens, had to go for a routine blood test anyway today (she has rheumatoid arthritis) so she's contacting the doctors to see if they can also check for gas in her blood (?) as the man from the emergency gasline said that was the only way of proving it was in her system.

I'm more concerned about the ramifications of my mums health at the moment, she's been ill for a couple of days which means she's missed her regular medication as she was unable to keep anything down.

Phone your local Environmental Health depaprtment at your local council ASAP

Mich81

Thanks Jowo I'm going to print that off.

I'm actually quite shocked at his lacksidasical approach towards this - he seems to be getting annoyed that we're calling regularly about it!

As far as I'm concerned, now there's no heating, no hot water, and we can't cook as its a gas oven then we can withold payment until this is sorted - is this correct? I think maybe cutting off the £££ supply to him might make him get something sorted quicker!

Jowo_2

Contact Shelter. Shelter and CAB tend to recommend that tenants do not withold their rent for any reason as it's simply a breach of the contract on the tenant's part. I can see why tenants wish to do this when the landlord isn't meeting their obligations but in fact payment of the rent is an obligation of the tenant.

Non-compliance, even when the landlord is in the wrong, can result in the tenants getting evicted quite speedily (for example, if a tenant pays monthly and is 2 months in arrears, a landlord can apply for a possession notice and the judge does not have any discretion and must award the possession back to the landlord, if at the time of serving the S8 notice and at the time of the court case, 2 months rent is owing).

There's nothing to stop you from negotiating with the landlord for no or reduced rent because of the lack of amenities.

In your case, the boiler problems may have been caused by landlord negligence but do remember that most cases of heating/cooking problems for serviced appliances that conform to all safety regulations are simple maintenance issues experienced by most householders. In those cases, a tenant is expected to boil kettles for hot water rather than simply stop paying the rent!

Speak to Shelter asap about your rights, whether you can claim the tenancy is frustrated and walk away from the property and its AST without penalty, whether you should sue the landlord for breaches of their safety obligations and whether you should apply to the local council as homeless because the property is considered uninhabitable, if the landlord is obliged to house you elsewhere until the gas supply is restored. Or whether they advise that you give your landlord a few days to resolve the boiler issue and persue the safety violation separately - not all boiler problems can be resolved the same day they are reported if they require a spare part, for example.

lynzpower

Mich81 wrote: »

Thanks Jowo I'm going to print that off.

I'm actually quite shocked at his lacksidasical approach towards this - he seems to be getting annoyed that we're calling regularly about it!

As far as I'm concerned, now there's no heating, no hot water, and we can't cook as its a gas oven then we can withold payment until this is sorted - is this correct? I think maybe cutting off the £££ supply to him might make him get something sorted quicker!

Wonder if his slack approach will be so important when EHO and HSE throw the book.

Plenty of cases of fines exceeding 10k form the HSE for not havein ga gas cert.

Mich81

Jowo wrote: »

Contact Shelter. Shelter and CAB tend to recommend that tenants do not withold their rent for any reason as it's simply a breach of the contract on the tenant's part. I can see why tenants wish to do this when the landlord isn't meeting their obligations but in fact payment of the rent is an obligation of the tenant.

Non-compliance, even when the landlord is in the wrong, can result in the tenants getting evicted quite speedily (for example, if a tenant pays monthly and is 2 months in arrears, a landlord can apply for a possession notice and the judge does not have any discretion and must award the possession back to the landlord, if at the time of serving the S8 notice and at the time of the court case, 2 months rent is owing).

There's nothing to stop you from negotiating with the landlord for no or reduced rent because of the lack of amenities.

In your case, the boiler problems may have been caused by landlord negligence but do remember that most cases of heating/cooking problems for serviced appliances that conform to all safety regulations are simple maintenance issues experienced by most householders. In those cases, a tenant is expected to boil kettles for hot water rather than simply stop paying the rent!

Speak to Shelter asap about your rights, whether you can claim the tenancy is frustrated and walk away from the property and its AST without penalty, whether you should sue the landlord for breaches of their safety obligations and whether you should apply to the local council as homeless because the property is considered uninhabitable, if the landlord is obliged to house you elsewhere until the gas supply is restored. Or whether they advise that you give your landlord a few days to resolve the boiler issue and persue the safety violation separately - not all boiler problems can be resolved the same day they are reported if they require a spare part, for example.

Thanks again Jowo - If its best to pay then thats what we'll do - want to play it by the book as much as we can.

The tenancy is in my mums name so will get her to call Shelter, after she's been to A&E as thats what the Doctor is suggesting - plus I guess if there's irrefutable proof that the gas has made her ill it will make our case stronger.