no gas safe cert for 6 years- tenant threatening legal action

dodger1

jbcck wrote: »

I am the OP. For those wondering how it all concluded....
i contacted HSE myself and told them the situation. I explained about the mix up with the Gas Safe certification. They asked does the boiler currently have one etc. (which it does). I was told that no further action is to be taken. I didnt receive a warning letter or a jail term as some of the post here would suggest. Took the tenant to court and got my money back. I would suggest using this site with caution. There are people with nothing better to do than create drama in their lives by offering amateur advice.

But a substantial fine and/or a prison sentence was a "possibility" which is correct, not definite obviously but it's best to point it out to someone asking a question,

http://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/domestic/faqlandlord.htm

What if I break the regulations?

You are putting lives at risk and breaking the law. HSE gives gas safety a high priority and will take the appropriate action to ensure compliance with the regulations; this could result in a substantial fine and/or a custodial sentence.

silvercar

dodger1 wrote: »

But a substantial fine and/or a prison sentence was a "possibility" which is correct, not definite obviously but it's best to point it out to someone asking a question,

http://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/domestic/faqlandlord.htm

What if I break the regulations?

You are putting lives at risk and breaking the law. HSE gives gas safety a high priority and will take the appropriate action to ensure compliance with the regulations; this could result in a substantial fine and/or a custodial sentence.[/B]

Except in this case they didn't take any action at all.

Pixie5740

This is what is imbalanced about renting. A tenant can do everything they're supposed and still be evicted for absolutely nothing using a Section 21.

A landlord can not bother with gas safety certificates and nothing happens to them.

HMRC even has an amnesty for landlords who are too ignorant to know they should have been declaring rental income.

Not enough happens to rogue landlords to discourage others from doing things such as letting without consent, letting themselves into the tenant's home, harassment, "forgetting" to get annual gas safety certificates, etc.

dodger1

silvercar wrote: »

Except in this case they didn't take any action at all.

Precisely, they decided that the appropriate action was to take none.

G_M

Pixie5740 wrote: »

This is what is imbalanced about renting. A tenant can do everything they're supposed and still be evicted for absolutely nothing using a Section 21.

A landlord can not bother with gas safety certificates and nothing happens to them.

One can only guess of course, but I suspect if the tenant had contacted HSE during the tenancy, and the LL had at that point had no certificate, more action would have been taken.

Given that in this case
a) the tenancy had ended and
b) a certificate by then existed and
c) it was the LL himself who contacted them, not a tenant complaint

HSE obviously decided it was appropriate not to pursue but to focus their resources on more serious and ongoing issues

piglet25

You would have had plenty of drama in your life had the tenant wound up in a box.

anselld

Pixie5740 wrote: »

HMRC even has an amnesty for landlords who are too ignorant to know they should have been declaring rental income.

.

No they dont. HMRC never used the term "amnesty"; it is a "campaign". And the terms are nothing like an amnesty.