Is a gas safety certificate required ??

Ollie21

LL must complete a gas inspection and supply a gas cert every year irrespective of ownership of appliances. However if the applicable you own fails then it would be your responsibility to fix or replace.

theartfullodger

Is the tenant a "Rent Act" tenant, having been there before 15th Jan 1989??

Irrespective of this, both LL & tenant have responsibilities... see..
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/home_safety/gas_safety/responsibility_for_gas_safety

As in this case the only bits "owned" (??) by landlord are the gas pipes I don't think he has to get a gas-safe cert done. However, were it me I'd get one done for the pipe-work only just in case there was an unfortunate accident & the court case was reported in the Daily Mail...

The smart landlord might offer to get one done for tenant's appliances as well

olly300

OP is it possible for you to answer other posters questions clearly so they can help you?

A simple yes or no will be sufficient to get the help you want.

1. Are you the tenant?
2. Did you get the appliances connected?
3. Was the gas supply capped off when you moved in?

Also as someone who gets their boiler serviced and checked every year with other gas appliances, a the check on the cooker is just a visual check. The plumber just looks at the elements to check it's burning properly and then looks as the fittings to see if they have been fiddled with. Takes about 2 minutes.

When I moved into my place there was a gas fire. The plumber just checked to see if was burning properly and was fitted correctly. It wasn't so it was disconnected, I threw it away, got the supply to it capped then eventually got the very ugly surrounds moved and the hole blocked up.

HB58

olly300, the OP answered your first question in post #8

Werdnal

If the property changes hands with the appliances already installed and in use, how does the LL legally prove he is not the "owner" of the appliances. Has tenant confirmed that they own and provided all appliances when they moved in, and will be taking them with them when they eventually move out?

Whatever the circumstances, the LL has a duty of care to ensure the safey of the property and his/her tenants. If there was a leak, with injurious or fatal consequences, it could be very difficult to prove, and I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of a damages or manslaughter charge if there was any doubt!

olly300

Werdnal wrote: »

If the property changes hands with the appliances already installed and in use, how does the LL legally prove he is not the "owner" of the appliances.

The landlord can't.

The landlord owns the property so if the appliances are left s/he is responsible for getting them removed.

Otherwise when the next tenant moves in regardless, of whether they have been given an proper inventory or not, they have to presume all items in the property are owned by the landlord.

It was explained to me a few years ago the reason why social landlords strip everything from properties before re-renting them is they don't want to be legally liable for defective items that former tenants have left behind.

To put it another way when you buy a property if someone leaves their junk in it, you end up being the legal owner of the junk whether you want the junk or not.

Werdnal wrote: »

Has tenant confirmed that they own and provided all appliances when they moved in, and will be taking them with them when they eventually move out?

It's up to the landlord to ensure the property was in the state they rented it out to the tenant originally. If the tenant leaves stuff then the landlord has a right to charge the tenant for disposal of the items if they refuse to come back and remove them in a reasonable time-scale.

Werdnal

Olly300, I appeciate and agree with your reply, but was referring to the OP's questions here.

In the OP, it is clearly stated that the property changed hands with tenant in place, and said tenant owns all the installed gas appliances. Does not necessarily follow that the LL now suddenly "owns" or becomes responsible for all the appliances installed, any more than he owns any furniture currently within the property, if the tenant provided all appliances/furniture themselves!

OP, does the LL in this scenario, have a copy of the original inventory proving what was provided at the time the tenant moved in?

olly300

Found the answer.

If the current tenant provided the appliances then that tenant has to get them checked.

The actual law is here Part F section 36

Simplified version is here

However as stated by other posters if the landlord wants to ensure they don't face any problems i.e. hassle from the authorities to prove the appliances aren't theirs, if anything goes wrong spending £50 a year is a small price to pay.

martindow

Even if the T has provided the cooker won't the LL still need to organise an annual inspection to check the pipework, connection to the meter, etc.?

losgiganteskid

Thanks for that Olly - just goes to show that a knee jerk reaction to any initial posting aint necessarily right !