Renting - Gas safety Certificate

stringer_bell

Hi All,
Moved into an upstairs flat. Tenant company advised I should get a gas safety certificate and organised an engineer, I could make the appointment both times as I was not in so the engineer has charged me £40 for a callout charge. I have a very busy schedule during the day, I'm under impression the gas safety certificate should of been organised before I moved in, can anyone advise?

dj1471

Yes it should have been sorted out before you moved in, unless there was an existing one that has just expired (has to be done annually).

Did they give you adequate notice of the appointments and inform you of the missed appointment charge? If so, you've only got yourself to blame...

That said, can't the letting agent give the engineer keys for access so you don't need to be present? That's what mine does.

stringer_bell

dj1471 wrote: »

Yes it should have been sorted out before you moved in, unless there was an existing one that has just expired (has to be done annually).

Did they give you adequate notice of the appointments and inform you of the missed appointment charge? If so, you've only got yourself to blame...

That said, can't the letting agent give the engineer keys for access so you don't need to be present? That's what mine does.

I only just moved in, the gas isnt even switched on yet, however I did not know this and had to cancel the appointment, takes 10-15 days for EON to switch it on as there was no gas provider

booksurr

the Landlord not the tenant is liable for the costs of the gas safety certificate, why are you paying it?

stringer_bell

booksurr wrote: »

the Landlord not the tenant is liable for the costs of the gas safety certificate, why are you paying it?

I'm not, Im paying for the callout charge for the missed appointment, apparently I gave too little notice and the engineer was already at property, even though I emailed the letting agent at 8am!

booksurr

stringer_bell wrote: »

I'm not, Im paying for the callout charge for the missed appointment, apparently I gave too little notice and the engineer was already at property, even though I emailed the letting agent at 8am!

I bet the letting agent does not open for business at 8am so how is that relevant - you tried to cancel an appointment with easily less than a few hours notice

it is your fault the appointment was missed and therefore you are indeed liable for the charge.

westernpromise

Whoah, hold on. I don't think so actually.

It is the landlord's responsibility not only to do the GSC, but also to arrange access for the gas company to do it. The tenant needn't put himself out to accommodate this. So if it's inconvenient for you to be there, or if this hasn't been checked with you, and you have to be at work (for instance), too bad for the landlord. He not you will have to book a day's holiday from work and wait at the flat from 8 till 1 or 12 till 6 to let the engineer in. Not you. If he does not put a GSC in place within 2 weeks of the expiry of the old he, not you, is committing a criminal offence. He can kvetch all he likes but the consequences are on him not you.

If he doesn't want to book a day off work either, then he pays a lettings agency to manage the property. They will use a retained firm for all such jobs and their plumbers will swing by the agency's office to pick up and drop off the spare house keys.

Don't pay the call out charge, instead ask to see the contract you signed in which you agreed to pay call out fees in respect of the landlord's obligations.

I am a landlord of 3 properties and have been a tenant of 3. I practise as I preach.

topdaddy_2

I dont see the charge as your problem as the cert should have been in place before you moved in, shouldnt it?

booksurr

westernpromise wrote: »

Whoah, hold on. I don't think so actually.

It is the landlord's responsibility not only to do the GSC, but also to arrange access for the gas company to do it. The tenant needn't put himself out to accommodate this. So if it's inconvenient for you to be there, or if this hasn't been checked with you, and you have to be at work (for instance), too bad for the landlord. He not you will have to book a day's holiday from work and wait at the flat from 8 till 1 or 12 till 6 to let the engineer in. Not you. If he does not put a GSC in place within 2 weeks of the expiry of the old he, not you, is committing a criminal offence. He can kvetch all he likes but the consequences are on him not you.

all of which is true but not relevant to the story presented by the OP

the OP's agency arranged for the inspection. OP gave permission and agreed a date. OP stated he would be there to allow engineer access .

By implication we shall assume OP did not give permission for access by an engineer if OP was not there

Something prevented OP from fulfilling his promise.

OP then gave insufficient notice of that change in plans leaving the LL/LA no ability to make alternative arrangements themselves. Legally you may disagree, but morally it is 100% the OP's fault the call out could not be stopped in time and so he should pay

westernpromise

booksurr wrote: »

all of which is true but not relevant to the story presented by the OP

the OP's agency arranged for the inspection. OP gave permission and agreed a date. OP stated he would be there to allow engineer access .

By implication we shall assume OP did not give permission for access by an engineer if OP was not there

Something prevented OP from fulfilling his promise.

OP then gave insufficient notice of that change in plans leaving the LL/LA no ability to make alternative arrangements themselves. Legally you may disagree, but morally it is 100% the OP's fault the call out could not be stopped in time and so he should pay

That's not how I read it. The agency arranged a visit but all we know is the OP couldn't make it, not that s/he broke the appointment.

Most tenancies stipulate that the landlord or his agents, tradesmen etc can enter the property for legit purposes on 24 hours' notice. If the agents didn't give this I'd think they can whistle for the money.

Meanwhile the tenant's in the flat without a GSC and time is running out for the landlord to discharge his responsibility....

dj1471

Also if the gas is turned off as the OP has stated I doubt there is still a legal obligation for a gas safety certificate to be in place (but I may be wrong).