Gas Safety in rented house - Boiler at risk

MrsTruffle82

Hi, I would really appreciate some advice please. We have lived in a rented house since December 2014. We originally had a 12 month contract but are now on a periodic tenancy.

Our gas safety inspection took place today. Our landlord booked an engineer from British Gas. Following the inspection the engineer advised he had turned the boiler off and gave us some paperwork indicating the boiler was "at risk". He advised us not to use it and put a warning sticker on the front.

We duly contacted our landlord following the gas safety inspection via email as they are often out of the country and advised them what we were told by the engineer. They replied and said the gas safety certificate had been issued and we should use the boiler. We then sent photographs of the paperwork and the warning sticker which clearly says do not use.

They then replied to say that British Gas are well known for over stating the work that needs to be done to drum up business and the boiler is safe and can be used and that if it wasn't safe it would have been disconnected. They also said they wanted to send an engineer that they use and that they trust to look at the boiler. We contacted Gas Safe to get some advice and then sent the landlord the links to the information which states again the boiler should not be used. We also asked them to confirm when the second engineer would like to come and that we did not feel it was correct to go against advice given by a qualified engineer.

As a result we are currently without hot water (2 adults and 2 children in the house). They have not replied to us as yet. What do we need to do to get this resolved?

marcarm

If BG are known for over stating the work required to drum up business, why did he book an engineer from there in the first place? Why not use the engineer they use and trust?

I can't help in the short term, but if it were me I'd be looking for somewhere else to live as he doesn't sound the sort of person to take his responsibilities seriously, claiming he knows more than a qualified engineer when he hasn't even seen the boiler!

Is there an actual GSC issued?

MrsTruffle82

My thoughts exactly!

We have found another property and will be giving notice very soon as we have had some minor repair issues that haven't been resolved quickly (not major and we were happy to keep living there) and the landlord wrote to ask us to increase the rent for the second time since April which would equate to a rise of 8.5% since that time. They are aware we are planning to leave as we are renting through the same agent again and they have given a reference.

Despite the fact we have not given formal notice they are already pushing us to allow viewings.

I can deal with all of that but the boiler worries me and the lack of hot water is just not on.

Pixie5740

Do not use the boiler.

Even if your landlord agreed to have the boiler fixed or replaced you'd still be without hot water for a few days or even a week or two until it was resolved. So in the meantime you'll just need to boil kettles for hot water. Do you have an electric shower?

HouseBuyer77

Sounds like the LL is a bit of a chancer but do you know the details of what's wrong with the boiler? He could be right in this instance that BG are overstating the danger.

[edit]Though of course regardless of what's wrong taking the advise of someone on a forum saying it's fine and switching it back on is a bad idea. Ensure your LL gets his preferred engineer round ASAP (and ensure they're also gas safe registered)[/edit]

MrsTruffle82

We won't use it. We don't have an electric shower and whilst I accept it could take a couple of days to fix with two children it is still a major inconvenience. I would be less annoyed if I felt the landlord was taking it seriously.

The paperwork British gas gave us says that "combustion reading fluctuation above 0.0040% and that the boiler is over 30 years old and needs replacing". On the safety summary the following questions are listed.

Appliance operation is safe No
Appliance flue and ventilation safe Yes
Functional parts all available No
Electronic carbon monoxide alarm manually operated No
Combustion emissions tested and confirmed as correct No

I have no idea what any of that means but a qualified engineer has decided that the the boiler isn't safe and that is good enough for me that something needs to be done.

Marvel1

MrsTruffle82 wrote: »

We have found another property and will be giving notice very soon

Despite the fact we have not given formal notice they are already pushing us to allow viewings.

Why it is tempting to say to the landlord with the notice "Are you thick as !!!!?" :wall:

I wouldnt bother with allowing viewings, you don't have too.

Also what are any viewers going to think when they see the sticker?

UrbanPlumners

reading above 0.004 ratio means boiler is AR (At Risk). Do not use it as it is dangerous and the engineer was correct to turn it off.

I would suggest you contact Gas Safe on 0800 408 5500 and tell them about your landlord refusing to rectify dangerous appliance. He has a legal duty to keep gas appliances not only inspected but also serviced and safe. Gas Safe is your best course of action right now if LL refuses to act.

bobbymotors

don't use it until a qualified engineer says you can. Even if it's an engineer the LL uses, no gas safe engineer will ok a dodgy boiler, especially if BG have semi condemned it. In honesty, BG will be ultra strict as their main interest in to install a new boiler at an inflated price, but do not take the chance

We dont know how much over the limit the CO emissions are, but if only slightly over a good clean and service and flue clean up and reseal will probably cure it.

Miss_Samantha

I have a feeling that this is the usual over-reaction from BG and the tenant.

[Deleted User]

Make sure that anyone they send round is gas safe registered before you take their advice

https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/find-an-engineer/