LA not arranged Gas Check - How do I contact tenant

mynameisdave

LA not deducted anything from monies paid to me this month so it would seem that they have not arranged the Gas Check as I requested. I didn't really want the hassle of arranging it myself but as its cheaper and a legal requirement I suppose I'll have to do the hard work.

Obviously I need to get this arranged ASAP so how do I inform the tenant of this? Knock on the door? Letter? Get their number from the agent and call them? All my previous dealings with the tenant have been via the agent so I have never met or spoke to them.

Do I ask if I can pass their details onto my contractor to arrange a convenient time or do I request permission to enter with my contractor if he is not present whenever my contractor can do the job?

How many requests for access do I give the tenant before I give written noticea that I will be entering the property (I have no reason to believe the tenant will be problematic but it is always a possibility).

Wee_Willy_Harris

Talk to your LA. They could have already arranged the gas check, even had it completed, but not yet had an invoice from which to pass a charge on to you. If this isn't the case, then come back and let us know.

PS. You can give as many "requests for access" as you like, but without the tenants agreement you have no right of entry without a court order.

mynameisdave

Thanks, will double check with them tomorrow.

However, I thought if access was denied to carry out legal obligations then I could state that it would be 'emergency access'

Wee_Willy_Harris

mynameisdave wrote: »

Thanks, will double check with them tomorrow.

However, I thought if access was denied to carry out legal obligations then I could state that it would be 'emergency access'

A gas check isn't an emergency. A fire is an emergency.

Annisele

Wee Willy Harris is right...but I'm not sure that a court would be likely to award compensation to Ts if their claim was "LL breached my right to quiet enjoyment by carrying out a gas safety check to make sure I didn't die of CO poisoning".

But in this case it's unlikely it will come to that - the OP has given no indication that either his Ts or the LA are awkward and/or useless; all that has happened is that the LA hasn't deducted a fee that the OP expected would be deducted this month.

clutton_2

i used to subscribe to the "quiet enjoyment" at all costs views... but.. have recently changed my view....

LLs have a repair and maintainance obligation under LL&T legislation... the law cannot impose such obligations without also allow LLs access to a property to fulfill those obligations....

I read of a LL who had used quiet enjoyment as his excuse for causing brain damage to a tenant whose boiler he had not checked out .... the tenant sued and won as the judge ruled that safety was more important than quiet enjoyment.....


""A gas check isn't an emergency."" - it very well could be - for example a scroat of a tenant i managed for another landlord had got a pair of pliers and clamped shut and then closed off the over-heating vent pipe on the outside of the property.. THAT was an emergency in my view as any overheating would have caused an explosion inside the property.... ......

an emergency can be very varied and i think if a LL has an accepted expert to back them up with a report, if a tenant were to sue the LL, a judge would not be able to prevent a LL from such maintainance......

from now on I personally will insist on access, or just go in, with the gas engineer, after writing to the tenant telling them when will be coming and inform the tenant if access is denied a locksmith will change the locks in order to gain access and the bill will go to the tenant......

tbs624

clutton wrote: »

i used to subscribe to the "quiet enjoyment" at all costs views... but.. have recently changed my view....

LLs have a repair and maintainance obligation under LL&T legislation... the law cannot impose such obligations without also allow LLs access to a property to fulfill those obligations....

That has always been the case - I have pointed out the relevant implied covenant ( LL&T Act s11(6) ) on this Board before - see here

clutton wrote: »

I read of a LL who had used quiet enjoyment as his excuse for causing brain damage to a tenant whose boiler he had not checked out .... the tenant sued and won as the judge ruled that safety was more important than quiet enjoyment.....

This was presumably the thread on Property Tribes? However, as I responded on this same point in another thread,

tbs624 wrote: »

I have posted before that many will hold on to the Ts “rights” under the implied covenant allowing quiet enjoyment whilst seeking to ignore the LLs “rights” under the implied covenant described in the LL & T Act 1985, s11(6). That said, if a T is refusing access then a LL would be wise to use a court order because this is one of the scenarios in which the LL can be damned either way. Some LLs ( and especially muppet LAs) do attempt to use the right to “inspections” in a way that was never intended under the law, but on the other hand some Ts go out of their way to be confrontational over the issue and, in doing so, place themselves potentially at risk.

In the “hearsay” case that you quote I would have thought that, in those circumstances, had the LL kept a good record not only of his own attempts to inspect but also the Ts related refusals, plus shown that he had sought a subsequent court order then the LL could have covered himself? If on the other hand, he sought access, was knocked back and simply though “oh, well….”, then clearly sanctions should be applied, particularly when there was apparently such a catastrophic result for the T's wellbeing

LLs need to safeguard themselves not only from being charged with neglecting their LL obligations but also with being charged with tenant harassment, particularly if there have been other difficulties between LL & T ( as is often the case).

clutton wrote: »

an emergency can be very varied and i think if a LL has an accepted expert to back them up with a report, if a tenant were to sue the LL, a judge would not be able to prevent a LL from such maintainance......

from now on I personally will insist on access, or just go in, with the gas engineer, after writing to the tenant telling them when will be coming and inform the tenant if access is denied a locksmith will change the locks in order to gain access and the bill will go to the tenant......

I think that sounds a bit like an overreaction Clutton - the vast majority of Ts understand why a GSC needs to be done and therefore tend not to refuse access for them ( indeed, as we know from threads on here , many Ts would positively welcome their errant LL actually getting on and arranging one).However, in the interests of good LL-T relationships it *is* possible to come to a mutually convenient arrangement on date/time.

The good thing about the expiry dates of GSCs is that they are like Xmas - they come around once a year, and you know when it will be. Simplest way is for LL&Ts to get in touch a month in advance and book that date.

tbs624

mynameisdave - first, as others have said, talk to your LA and check whether or not the GSC has been sorted.

If you need to arrange it yourself, why not write to the Ts, stating that the GSC must be done before x date, and that your gas safe registered HE is x company.

Tell them that you have provisionally arranged a date/time of y/z and that the T can ring the HE direct if the date needs to be rearranged, but it must be within the appropriate timeframe . Enclose an HSE leaflet on LLs duties

Treat as you would like to be treated.......:) Happy Ts equal rent paid on time, property looked after, no voids.

Googlewhacker

tbs624 wrote: »

Treat as you would like to be treated.......:) Happy Ts equal rent paid on time, property looked after, no voids.

So you can guarantee this then, please let me know where you get these tenants from that are happy AND will guarantee my payment from them!

mynameisdave

Well I couldn't get in to speak with them face to face so I had to deal over the telephone. Agent was unsure if it had been done (which I' taking to mean it hasn't) and said he would check the files and sort it if needed.

I'm in town tomorrow but think thats a little early to be contacting them straight away. I'll likely be back that way on Wednesday so thinknig this would be a good time to check if they have been in contact with the tenant and what arrangements have been made.

clutton_2

tbs - you misunderstand me... when i said ""from now on I personally will insist on access, or just go in, with the gas engineer after writing to the tenant telling them when will be coming and inform the tenant if access is denied a locksmith will change the locks in order to gain access and the bill will go to the tenant......""

I would only enforce my own (and gas engineers entry) if the tenant had repeatedly refused me access.. and if there were grounds to believe that there was a dangerous situation developing, gas-wise, i would have no compunction other than to write then just go in - if the tenant refused.....

i have had 2 tenants who have used this "access" issue as a weapon... both had young kids.... both boilers had been interfered with when i finally got in... i am not risking that again....

we are talking about tenants lives here.....

i have seen tenants killed by lack of gas inspections......