Gas safety checks..and the legal ramifications for lack of them

Ash_Vanguard

Hi
I am currently living in a rented house and have done so for over a year now, we had our yearly gas check and the inspector has failed and decommissioned the gas cooker (there is very low gas pressure due to the wrong size pipes going in into it and round other parts of the house). Now this problem has caused two things, me for one having to spend a considerable amount of takeaways and such (has been like this for over a week) and also for me to question whether the property even has a gas safety certificate when we moved in. Now first i would like to claim back the cost of this extra burden/get a rent reduction, will I have a right for this? and what are the ramifications for the landlord for him not having a gas safety certificate when we moved in?
thanks
Ash

BitterAndTwisted

You've had a gas-safety check, the equipment found wanting and the appliance disconnected. Therefore the landlord is not in breach. I don't think a landlord could be retrospectively charged, but having a current gas-safety check suggest that there were previous ones. Are you absolutely certain that the landlord did not have one? Just because you've not seen it does not mean that such a thing did not exist. Did you ask your landlord for sight of one?

You have no absolute right to a rent-reduction but your landlord should have either arranged for the cooker to be made safe or arranged for an alternative. Have you asked for either yet?

Ash_Vanguard

The reason I feel he/she did not have one is the fact that the cooker (that is in the inventory) failed and failed on something that anyone would fail it on and something that had not changed since the previous year, therefore either the cooker was regarded as safe or it was not tested. I have sent the estate agents an email yes. thanks for the help

silvercar

Ash_Vanguard wrote: »

The reason I feel he/she did not have one is the fact that the cooker (that is in the inventory) failed and failed on something that anyone would fail it on and something that had not changed since the previous year, therefore either the cooker was regarded as safe or it was not tested. I have sent the estate agents an email yes. thanks for the help

Could it be that the regulations have changed? there is an article in today's Sunday Times where a vent that was too small would pass a safety check last year with a comment noted but this year actually failed a check. No change to the vent size, but a change in the regulations.

Ash_Vanguard

Possibly, I know there is a lot of landlords on here but im pretty !!!!ed off with not being able to cook anything for over a week and I have not done anything at all wrong