Rented property, uncapped pipe, huge bill???

ajperc

Hi

I will try and keep this short but ensure all details are noted.

I rent a 1 bed flat through an agency and have just has the gas guy round for the annual check. The only thing gas is used for is the boiler. He noticed straight away the meter was clocking up very quickly (more than 5 times faster than normal) even though the heating was OFF.

It turns out there is a pipe going to the lounge fireplace (used to be gas heater many years ago but not now) which has NOT been capped off and is controled by a tap next to fireplace. There is no electric or gas heater there,just tiles so its been blocked off. The tap had been knocked on some how at some point and a large amount of gas had been flowing through the open pipe and into the chimney. My calculations based on the reading says its about 15months worth, or £450 worth!!

The gas man turned it off and the meter stopped running. He declared it on the certificate as AT RISK (AR). A guy from the gas board came round aswell and declared it IMMEDIATE DANGER (ID). This doesnt sound good as the whole chimney was pouring gas and in my opinion is very dangerous. the flat is ground floor with 5 flats above so if the gas was ignited would have exploded!

I am waiting for him to speak to Gas Safe and see what they say. I did not know we had an open pipe in the flat, I was not told anythinig by the agency or landlord, and feel pretty discusted that a flat can be rented with such a hazard. I could occasionlly smell gas walking past the building and now i know where it came from.

I need to know who is responsible for paying the huge £450 bill this has incurred? The agency for renting the flat with such a danger, the landlord because he owns the property, or me. The bill is in my name but surely it is a case of negligence by the agency or landlord, and i have a good mind to sue for negligence and putting me in danger.

Any help appreciated.
thanks

BitterAndTwisted

The landlord is responsible for the property's maintenance and the maintenance of all of their fixtures in it.

Start making notes of exactly what was done and when for future reference. Before any more work is carried out you should contact the agents as a matter of urgency. All bills should be settled by the agent on behalf of the landlord they represent. Get this acknowledged and sorted immediately!

G_M

Do you have the GasSafe ennineer's and gas board guy's certificates (ie documentary evidence)?

Write to the LL explaining what has happened and enclosing copies (keep the originals yourself).

Point out the dangerous state in which he handed over the property to you, and say that you understand he must be very relieved no one has been hurt a) as that would have been a tragedy and b) he would have been criminally responsible.

Also provide a copy of your gas bill (if you are waiting, ask the gas company to send you an interim one based on a meter reading you take and give them.) Decide what % of the bill you think is fairly your responsibility, and ask him to forward you a cheque to cover the remainder of the bill.

Keep copies of your letter.

edit: write to the landlord, not the agent. Your contract is with him, and he is the one responsible. Send a copy to the agent. Your LL's address for the serving of Notices (formal letters/documents etc like this) should be on your tenancy agreement. If you do not hav an address for the LL you do not have o pay rent.

BitterAndTwisted

I suspect that the most urgent issue right now for the OP is to have the costs incurred to date acknowledged and settled by the landlord. Once the gas supply has been safely reinstated the tenant may have a fairish idea of the gas used by this leak to the fire and they may be able to get the landlord to agree to share some of that expense. It's going to be a difficult one as obviously the usage in spring is going to be substantially less than that during the coldest winter for decades by a number of multiples.

OP, you absolutely need to get everything down in writing in case you need evidence later on, so you should only communicate with your landlord and their agents by letter from now on. I can see a "discussion" on the horizon.

Marvel1

It's definitely not the letting agent as they don't own the property.

BitterAndTwisted

Agreed but the agent is the landlord's chosen intermediary so initial contact should go through them in the first instance. They can do the liaising between the two parties as that is what they are paid to do.

silvercar

Did you see a gas safety certificate before you moved in?

Seems to be two issues here:
1. whether it is safe to leave a gas pipe tapped but not capped if there is no appliance.
2. the cost of the lost gas that you say was caused by "The tap had been knocked on some how at some point ".

If it is unsafe to leave a tapped pipe unconnected then the gas escape was possibly an accident waiting to happen. If it is safe then you ideally want to know when the tap was knocked and by who.

G_M

silvercar wrote: »

Did you see a gas safety certificate before you moved in?

Seems to be two issues here:
1. whether it is safe to leave a gas pipe tapped but not capped if there is no appliance.
2. the cost of the lost gas that you say was caused by "The tap had been knocked on some how at some point ".

If it is unsafe to leave a tapped pipe unconnected then the gas escape was possibly an accident waiting to happen. If it is safe then you ideally want to know when the tap was knocked and by who.

I suspect this is answered by:

A guy from the gas board came round aswell and declared it IMMEDIATE DANGER (ID).

ajperc

I dont know who knocked the tap, its at the side of the fireplace inbetween shelves so obviously an accident waiting to happen. A mouse could have done it for all i know.

I have typed a letter for the landlord explaining what happened, not a harsh letter, just informing her of the bill and hazard as i do not know if he was aware of it. The gas heater (very old fashioned to have one) could have been removed 10-20yrs ago. or maybe he bought the flat a few years ago and removed it then when renovating. I dont know. I understand not just anyone can remove a gas heater and a gas safe engineer would have to do it, and they must have been aware it needs to be capped but decided to cut a corner and not bother. The landlord may have paperwork and details of the cowboy who done it as they are responsible. Thats for him to check.

IMO the agency have a responsibility to ensure properties are safe to live in before putting tenants in them! paperwork should be checked, it doesnt take long or cost much, but i guess its too much to ask for greedy, corner cutting companies these days.

Also i was told that there must be a vent of some sort on the fireplace to allow air flow from the chimney. If there was one the gas would have seeped into the flat!

I will post again when i have spoken to the agency on Monday. Thanks for the helpful response guys.

G_M

IMO the agency have a responsibility to ensure properties are safe to live in before putting tenants in them! paperwork should be checked, it doesnt take long or cost much, but i guess its too much to ask for greedy, corner cutting companies these days.

Responsiblity lies ultimately with the landlord.

paddyrg

LL may be absent/unreachable/overseas/etc so I would send it cc to the LL and agent alike.