Advice on tenant not allowing Electrical Certification

theartfullodger

It's essential for the landlord, yes, but not for the tenant.  Tenant perfectly entitled to decline.  Landlord perfectly entitled to go for court order (yes, timescales) .

Perhaps a gentler approach offering e.g. 50% off rent - when you 1st tried - might have been more successful.  But by now probably dug heels in.

Artful: Landlord.

ess0two

You could guarantee if the electrics failed or the boiler packed in, there would be no issue allowing a tradesman access.

SpiderLegs

steampowered said:

m0bov said:

Just give 24 hours notice and go with sparky, use your key. If they kick off, 101. Are they hiding something? Sub let? Bypassed meter?

This would be illegal and could get the landlord arrested. For the duration of the lease, it's the tenant's property - you cannot just barge in. 

No it wouldn’t.

[Deleted User]

Millions of these tests across the country won't be completed for the 1st April deadline.  There aren't enough electricians.

greatcrested

My sister is facing the exact same issue. Tenant is shielding and has refused access for routine inspections,, identified (minor) repairs, and the EICR. She did manage to get a gas report done last summer after about 6 requests.

As someone who is shielding myself, I'm sympathetic. The EICR in particular is very intrusive- around two hours(?) with access needed to every room. I would decline myself unless I thought there was a serious problem with the electrics.

Provided you have kept a log of every date access was requested, and the tenant's response, you will be able to show that you have made all reasonable afforts to meet the April deadline.

You are not going to be prosecuted, and if you were, the court would see you'd done all you can. That's also what happens with gas reports if denied entry.

As for using a key after 24 hours notice, that assumes you have a key for the current lock. And if you use it after the tenant has said no then a) you risk legal action against you and b) you are really going to mess up your LL/tenant relationship.

This HSE guidance may be helpful though applicable to gas:

How far do I need to go if the tenant prevents access for a gas safety test?

A landlord has to show that they took all reasonable steps to comply with the law. HSE recommends the following best practice in these circumstances and strongly advises that a record be kept of all correspondence with the tenants:

• leave the tenant a notice stating that an attempt was made to complete the gas safety check and provide your contact details;
• write to the tenant explaining that a safety check is a legal requirement and that it is for the tenants own safety. Give the tenant the opportunity to arrange their own appointment;
• HSE inspectors will look for at least three attempts to complete the gas safety check, including the above suggestions; however the approach will need to be appropriate to each circumstance. It would ultimately be for a court to decide if the action taken was reasonable depending upon the individual circumstances.
• It is a good idea to include arrangements for access in the tenancy agreement.

theartfullodger

That's all very well for HSE.  But maybe not for eviction case later when tenant (correctly) raises missing certificate as defence.

davidmcn

ess0two said:

You could guarantee if the electrics failed or the boiler packed in, there would be no issue allowing a tradesman access.

Like I said, that would be a different matter. Checking that the electrics haven't spontaneously developed a fault when nobody was looking is considerably less of a priority.

greatcrested

theartfullodger said:

That's all very well for HSE.  But maybe not for eviction case later when tenant (correctly) raises missing certificate as defence.

I'm not 100% certain, but believe a S21 would be invalid if the Presribed Information was not provided at the start of the tenancy.

At the time this tenancy started (4 years ago), an EICR was not part of the PI, so a S21 would still be valid.

I think.

There is overlap here with the case of Trecarrell House V Rouncefireld 2020  which revolved around validity of a S21 where a gas report had not been given to the tenant at the start, although a) there had been a gas report at that time and b) it was provided later. The S21 was ruled valid by the court.

So it may be that an EICR is required before the S21 is served - though I suspect not since it did not form part of the PI as efined by the Housing Act at the time the tenancy started.

Still just 'I think'!

m0bov

Has the tenant produced a shielding letter?