Advice from landlords please...

learningitalian

Hi all,
I rent in Scotland with a SAT, renewed yearly. I have a question regarding the inventory for the property. I was handed the inventory on the day we moved in with the landlord saying to check and return it within seven days. No mention of any damage to furnishings or fittings was stated in the tenancy and upon checking there were quite a few discrepancies. I checked every item in the house and made my own comments, in writing,on the inventory itself regarding condition of items and stated that there were a few things not in the house that were on the list. I signed and dated it and duly sent it back and heard nothing back from the landlord.
How do I stand should the landlord dispute anything on checkout?
The landlord states that the safety certificate I get from the Gas board when the boiler is serviced is my gas assurance certificate, even though the cooker and hob are never checked. The gas engineer checked the meter box and told me that it needed main equipotential bonding( protective multiple earthing) . Of course this has not been attended to.
She promised to send me details, when pressed, of where my deposit is held, but hasn't got back to me . I rang the deposit schemes and surprise surprise they do not have my deposit. I am really fed up now of not having repairs done, and worry about the work which needs to be done to the gas meter. Any advice most gratefully received.
Thanks in advance.
A worried mum.

Emmylou_2

Did you keep a copy of the amended/annotated inventory?

learningitalian

Emmylou wrote: »

Did you keep a copy of the amended/annotated inventory?

Yes I have a copy.

findochtywifie

If you go to the Scottish Government website and look for Safeguarding Tenancy Deposits. Point number 9 makes interesting reading. It may help you decide on a course of action.

I did try and provide a link but I wasn't allowed!

SerialRenter

findochtywifie wrote: »

I did try and provide a link but I wasn't allowed!

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/privaterent/landlords/tenancy-deposit-schemes

Right at the bottom. Certainly does make nice reading for you

AlexMac

Electrical bonding (whereby almost every metal bit of plumbing or pipework is connected to visible green and yellow 'earth wires' with little metal tags to demonstrate that wiring is up to modern regulations) does make the place more safe, but was not common in older installations.

Just try not to touch the taps and stick your finger into the electrical socket at the same time! So, joking aside, be somewhat reassured that this fail-safe feature (which my gas safe engineer notes is also absent in my otherwise well-maintained rental flat) is not a 'failure' issue.

But I'm surprised the Gas Safe engineer doesn't check all gas appliances. I had to get an engineer to disconnect and take out a gas fire, for example, when they found a minor drop in pressure on the supply from the meter to the fire in my rental flat. And a gas safe engineer also pointed out in a note on the cert that the gas hob didn't have a safety cut out (which acts if the gas blows out or a pan boils over). Again, this has been required by modern regs in England at least, for a few years, but only on kit installed in recent years, and is not retrospective so again, doesn't mean it fails the inspection.

Good luck chasing the deposit. If you have enough brass neck, maybe you can get the LL to fix the faults against a negotaition about wheter you'll enforce on the deposit?

learningitalian

AlexMac wrote: »

Electrical bonding (whereby almost every metal bit of plumbing or pipework is connected to visible green and yellow 'earth wires' with little metal tags to demonstrate that wiring is up to modern regulations) does make the place more safe, but was not common in older installations.

Just try not to touch the taps and stick your finger into the electrical socket at the same time! So, joking aside, be somewhat reassured that this fail-safe feature (which my gas safe engineer notes is also absent in my otherwise well-maintained rental flat) is not a 'failure' issue.

But I'm surprised the Gas Safe engineer doesn't check all gas appliances. I had to get an engineer to disconnect and take out a gas fire, for example, when they found a minor drop in pressure on the supply from the meter to the fire in my rental flat. And a gas safe engineer also pointed out in a note on the cert that the gas hob didn't have a safety cut out (which acts if the gas blows out or a pan boils over). Again, this has been required by modern regs in England at least, for a few years, but only on kit installed in recent years, and is not retrospective so again, doesn't mean it fails the inspection.

Good luck chasing the deposit. If you have enough brass neck, maybe you can get the LL to fix the faults against a negotaition about wheter you'll enforce on the deposit?

Thanks so much for your very valuable advice.
Regarding the gas inspections.. only after much nagging do I get an engineer to service the 20 year old failing boiler. The landlord states that the gas safety certificate for the boiler is all that is required.
I am going to have to nag her again as one of the bedroom windows lets in water and mould is appearing on the ceiling.