No contact from landlady - boiler certificate expired

tbs624

Road_Hog wrote: »

That has no bearing on the question asked and is quite frankly none of your business.

It is relevant whenever a T has a LL who is not resident in the UK and it's right that posters should flag it up for tenants who may be unaware of how they may personally be implicated if a LL has not completed the appropriate paperwork.

From the horse's mouth:

"Which tenants have to operate the NRL Scheme?

Tenants of non-resident landlords have to operate the scheme if:

• the rent they pay is over £100 a week

and either:

• they pay the rent direct to a non-resident landlord
• they pay the rent to a person outside the UK
• they pay the rent to a person who is not a letting agent in the UK

HMRC may sometimes instruct tenants to operate the scheme even where the rent paid is less than £100 a week.
HMRC has produced a booklet called Non-Resident Landlords-guidance notes for letting agents and tenants that tells people what their responsibilities are under the scheme."

tbs624

Road_Hog wrote: »

Hi,

As a landlord (single property), here is my view.

If by the boiler safety certificate, you mean the annual gas check, then I would go ahead and have this done. I think it's about £65 from memory and is a legal requirement.

Deduct this from the rent, but send an email in advance so that your landlady is aware what the deduction is for. .

As a LL you should be aware :

(a) the legal requirement is placed at the LLs feet, not the Ts. Hefty fines available for LLs who fail on this one.

(b) of the law around the provision of an address in Eng/Wales - if the LL has not provided this then the OP does not have to pay *any* rent until such time as the law is complied with.

tbs624

jamie11 wrote: »

The tax is very much your business, I will leave the tax experts here to tell you why.

Since you have no UK address for her then you have no liability to pay the rent until you do, when you do have a UK address all the rent becomes due immediately. (I am assuming you are in England or Wales).

Address has to be in Eng/Wales, rather than "UK", if property is in Eng/Wales - see s48 LL & T Act (1987)

jjlandlord

tbs624 wrote: »

Address has to be in Eng/Wales, rather than "UK", if property is in Eng/Wales - see s48 LL & T Act (1987)

For tax purposes, it seems that HMRC is happy with an agent within the UK. (the LTA 1987 does not apply per se to this issue)
LL can also apply to receive rent gross.

More there:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cnr/nr_landlords.htm

jamie11

Road_Hog wrote: »

That has no bearing on the question asked and is quite frankly none of your business.

Really??

I think it's everybody's business where tax evasion is concerned.

@tbs64.

Mea culpa, guilty of over abbreviating, but I think you will find they're happy if it's somewhere in the UK. But I should have put E&W.

Werdnal

Road_Hog wrote: »

That has no bearing on the question asked and is quite frankly none of your business.

Ahh but it does. If a non-UK resident LL does not nominate a UK agent, relative etc to pay their tax due on the rent they recieve, it can actually fall to the tenant to pay the LL's tax direct from the rent.

Doesn't matter whether the council know or not, the LL is evading tax, breaking UK law and tenant should be very careful not to get dragged into the mess! A demand for 9 year's back-tax may be just around the corner!

OP, if you cannot get hold of the LL, and as you have already been advised, do not have a UK address, then rent is not actually due until a UK address is provided. Stop paying, keep the rent aside and available to pass on to the LL when they contact you to ask where the rent is. In the meatime, get a CO2 detector. Lack of gas safety certificate in a UK rental property is an offense, so when LL contacts you, advise the situation, and also the "no rent due" law.

This lack of contact needs to be sorted out before something major goes wrong with the property - if the boiler breaks down, you have a burst pipe, break in etc - or even want to give notice that you are moving, how are you going to deal with this if the LL does not reply?

Road_Hog

tbs624 wrote: »

As a LL you should be aware :

(a) the legal requirement is placed at the LLs feet, not the Ts. Hefty fines available for LLs who fail on this one.

(b) of the law around the provision of an address in Eng/Wales - if the LL has not provided this then the OP does not have to pay *any* rent until such time as the law is complied with.

As a LL I'm fully aware that this needs to be done and is organised by the lettings agency every year.

My advice was for the tenant, not a tool like you.

My advice was also based on the fact that the LL is not UK resident, and practicalities take precedence over law.

Lastly, stop giving rubbish advice, not paying the rent is the quickest way to get a tenant evicted even if they are legally in the right.

Do NOT forget, that the LL owns the property and if they, for ANY reason decide that the tenant is unsuitable or becoming a problem, then they can hand in the notice to the tenant.

jamie11

Road_Hog wrote: »

Hi,

As a landlord (single property), here is my view.

My advice was for the tenant, not a tool like you My advice was also based on the fact that the LL is not UK resident, and practicalities take precedence over law.
.

Grow up and stop insulting people.

minuettoallegretto

Thanks for all the advice so far - I really don't want the hassle of moving, so withholding rent is not an option in my eyes. I'm keeping my fingers crossed she gets back to me soon, in the meantime I will arrange the check - for my own peace of mind, not her convenience, because it's my children will be affected if there's a problem. The stair carpet will have to wait for now - this side of Christmas is out for me financially, so unless she does manage to arrange anything we'll just have to be cautious going up and down.
Just because she lives overseas doesn't mean she IS evading tax. I still maintain it's not my business - it's her property, her money, her responsibility - and if someone started querying MY tax arrangements I would tell them exactly the same. She used to childmind for me years ago, and would have been most offended (rightly!) if I had questioned her financial arrangements then, so why should this be any different?

jamie11

minuettoallegretto wrote: »

Just because she lives overseas doesn't mean she IS evading tax. I still maintain it's not my business - it's her property, her money, her responsibility - and if someone started querying MY tax arrangements I would tell them exactly the same. She used to childmind for me years ago, and would have been most offended (rightly!) if I had questioned her financial arrangements then, so why should this be any different?

True, she may be lily white. Unfortunately she is not doing it properly - the law is clear on these matters, you must have a E&W address for her and she should have a nominated agent, that could be a relative or a friend, it does not have to be a business. It is different and you could be getting enmeshed in a whole lot of bother.

I bet you wished you never asked now.