No heating!

thesaint

flying_v wrote: »

<snip>
I think I may have confused myself earlier by talking about boilers. I'd say we don't have a boiler, we just have an immersion heater which gives us hot water. The only gas equipment is an old gas fire that is marked unsafe, so I would think no gas safety regulations have been broken.

Thanks for clarifying that, it was as I suspected. :A

Loretta

flying_v wrote: »

No we don't have a gas safety certificate, i'll ask for that. The old gas heater in the front room has a warning sign on it saying its been marked unsafe - they've made it safe by switching the gas off completely!

Unfortunately i'm unclear as to whether the property had c/h advertised, don't have an advert for it to check. I'll have to see what they say on Monday.

Thanks for your advice.

It is a criminal offence for the landlord not to have a gas safety certificate, it is much more serious than not fullfilling the terms of the tenancy agreement

Loretta

real1314 wrote: »

it doesn't matter if the advert stated it had central heating or not, if you were shown round and were told that it was c/heated, that's enough, in fact I'd suggest that the only way out of it for the LL would be if they (or the agent) had explicitly stated that the c/heating didn;t work and would not be working.

Did the agent or whoever showed you round say that the radiators were part of the decor, like a picture on the wall and they were just for show? I doubt it!!

I know I keep saying it but I hate these silly, ignorant, amateur landlords!!

If you look through this section you will see that someone has posted that their landlord has given keys to tenants from another house he owns so that they can go round, let themselves in and have a bath!! I would suggest that you go round to your landlord's house and use his bathroom and now the evenings are getting a bit chilly you could turn up at his house every evening, sit on his sofa, put your feet up and watch his telly in his nice warm sitting room because it is too cold at the house you rent from him

red40

Interesting thread this and not to steal the OP predicament, I was having a (heated) discussion over a jar or two last friday, with a number of my friends who between them have been registered with CORGI for many many years.

The essence of the conversation was, does the gas pipe installation need to be included in the Landlords annual gas safety check. The concensus was (except two friends) that although it is a recommendation, it is not a legal requirement under the 12 month landlords gas safety check.

We then went into a more heated discussion (argument) and decided that it would be better to get CORGI's ruling, before a few friends came to blows.

Having emailed CORGI and received a response from the technical manager Mr Rolfe, he confirmed that a landlord has a legal duty for the purposes of the annual safety check to have only the gas appliances and flues checked within a 12 month period.

However, there is another part of Regulation 36 (landlords responsibilities) that says effective maintenance must take place and the installation pipework would be covered under this part. How a landlord records this maintenance is upto him, he doesn't have to have it done or recorded on the 12 month gas safety check.

Although personally it would be better to get it checked at the same time as the 12 month check. I must admit I was one who said that it was a legal duty on the landlord to be included in the 12 month check, but now I have read the regs, I can see the error of my ways.:D

Gorgeous_George

clutton wrote: »

even if no appliances are working, if there are gas pipes and gas flues in the property a CORGI certificate is still needed

What are my duties as a landlord in relation to gas safety?

You have duties under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 to arrange maintenance by a CORGI-registered installer for all pipe work, appliances and flues, which you own and have provided for your tenants use.


You must also arrange for an annual gas safety check to be carried out every 12 months by a CORGI-registered installer.


You must keep a record of the safety check for 2 years and issue a copy to each existing tenant within 28 days of the check being completed and issue a copy to any new tenants before they move in.

One more 'must' that you missed (or is it 'mussed that you mist').

you must remember to add all these bills up when setting the rent



GG

clutton_2

it makes no sense to only check out appliances - if there is a leak in a pipe connection and you gas your tenant you will still be criminally liable whether the cooker and boiler were decomissioned or not.

silvercar

I'm confused by all this talk of pipes and flues and appliances.

I ring the CORGI guy, tell him I need an annual landlords inspection & certificate and I expect him to check everything that needs checking. I don't specify which bits he's to check and which not; he's meant to check everything "gassy" at the property. The fact he then issues the certificate I take to mean everything is OK. I don't then ask him if he checked the pipes etc. He's the expert, I've asked for a full check so I rely on that certificate.

Canucklehead

Good morning: If you have a few spare hours, pick your way through the 1998 Gas Safety Regulations for the definitive answers... not an easy read!:eek: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1998/19982451.htm

HTH

Canucklehead

flying_v

Well I spoke to them today and they won't budge. The landlord says 'no boiler - not yet'. They are prepared to provide more electric heaters but I didn't want to accept that over the phone as it would mean I was agreeing with them!

I told her that we wouldn't have taken the flat if the heating didn't work. She said there was an electric hob - implying there was no gas.

I'd like advice on how to proceed. Should I contact my council? I am fuming now to be honest!!!

EDIT: I browsed to the council web site and submitted a report about a hazard - basically asking for advice. Might try the CAB too..

clutton_2

if they are offering you sufficient heaters to provide heating in all of the property i dont think you have much of a case to be honest. it may not be your choice of heating, but it is heating.