LL refusing Gas Safe to test Boiler

Brie

I certainly wouldn't be paying a large amount for 6 months rent in a place that has a lot of problems.  Maybe change to paying  for December on 1st Dec?  And explain politely that it's due to the number of issues unresolved.

Utterlyconfused81

Brie said:

I certainly wouldn't be paying a large amount for 6 months rent in a place that has a lot of problems.  Maybe change to paying  for December on 1st Dec?  And explain politely that it's due to the number of issues unresolved.

As with other ramblings in numerous emails they have stated over and over I have no right or grounds to withhold rent.

I can only assume any request to change from 6 month to monthly will be denied and at which point any failure to pay the 6 months will be classed as not adhering to the TA.

I really hope I am wrong about the above.

macman

I don't understand how GS are offering to do an inspection, if the alleged faulty install was done by someone not registered by them? They have no power to strike off someone who isn't registered anyway, nor can they prosecute anyone for incompetent workor working when unregistered.. That would need to be done by HSE.
Unless I have misunderstood your entire post...

Utterlyconfused81

macman said:

I don't understand how GS are offering to do an inspection, if the alleged faulty install was done by someone not registered by them? They have no power to strike off someone who isn't registered anyway, nor can they prosecute anyone for incompetent workor working when unregistered.. That would need to be done by HSE.
Unless I have misunderstood your entire post...

My understanding is that they are coming as the person who did the gas cert is registered gas safe, however questions have been raised as to 1,  did he really attend the property and 2, did he do a competent job testing.  Given that there is no manual at the property, which they advised there should be, that there has been a leak which should have been identified, and the cert was signed off to say Co2 alarm was fitted / tested and in working order, when it was not, have raised enough concerns for them to arrange an inspection, albeit visual.

I don't really understand the workings of all this either,  I only contacted them originally to report the person who signed the cert as I feel he did an inadequate job.

As for who installed the boiler, I am unsure as the question was never answered and Gas safe oddly were not able to give me an answer.

Utterlyconfused81

Had a reply this morning to the email sent yesterday asking for the reason behind denying Gas Safe to fully test the boiler:

"The gas safe certificate you have been given are your legal assurance that the gas works are safe.
The gas safe reg numbers of the trades people on those documents are your legal assurance that they were carried out by competent professionals.
We do not want the works currently being undertaken by our contractors to be delayed."

I've replied stating that we are not assured by it, and clearly neither are Gas Safe given their willingness to send out an Engineer.  

That reference to current work by contractors is ridiculous given that it's not even remotely connected in anyway to works they are currently doing, nor due to do once instructed to do so in the near future.

This can surely only be they are either worried by what the outcome may be or are being deliberately awkward to make the tenancy even more intolerable than it is already. 

mattyprice4004

To be honest, as a landlord (who are often looked down on at the best of times) it's quite irritating to see one of my own ilk behaving like this. 
I would have the safety test done at your cost, and if they find issues but refuse to resolve I'd look to end the tenancy and move elsewhere. 

On the flip side, my tenant's thermostat failed on Friday night (7PM) and I was there Saturday morning wiring in the replacement myself. There's better out there. 

diystarter7

OP
I've contributed and tried to keep up with this thread.
I think you should move it will be the best for both sides.
Get everyhting in writing re if you are to move out before the 12 months.
Good luck.

Jumblebumble

macman said:

Utterlyconfused81 said:

theartfullodger said:

In your shoes with your concerns I'd simply get a gas safety certificate done, at your own expense, without asking permission from stupid landlord.  Then see what it says!

Artful  (landlord since 2000)

That's pretty much the stage we are getting to, however the LL's rep has stated, in more than one email, that we are not authorised under any circumstances to have anyone do any work at the property and that any ignoring of this instruction will also not see them liable for costs.

My concern is that if we do hire someone (we have a builder friend who will be able to recommend a reputable and qualified Engineer) and a fault is found, that the LL / Rep will then claim this is as a result of the person we hired and try and pass liability on to us.

This has already been the case with regards another issue at the property where the LL authorised and transferred my partner the money to pay for work to be done only to then claim that our contractor had made the problem worse, which was simply not the case.  Nor were they our contractor as far as we are concerned.  

Honestly, if I provided a full list of issues with this place along with how much we paid upfront and the difficulty we've had in getting anything done, you'd think I was making it up before realising it's so crazy it could only be true. 

It's not 'work', it's an inspection. You can commission any report you like without the LL's permission. The only 'work' involved is undoing a couple of screws to remove the fboiler ront cover. The LL's agent is clueless and simply repeating nonsense.

Hmm
What do you think happens next if the Gas Safe Engineer decides the system is dangerous and caps off the supply ?

Jumblebumble

Utterlyconfused81 said:

TheJP said:

Are you prepared to move?

Absolutely, though not quite sure how that would work in relation to our current AST.

We are 5 months into 12 month contract, and paid 6 upfront at the start due to me contracting and not having a guaranteed fixed income.  The next 6 months £10k is due next month but given the issues we have had to date, the number of issues to be resolved and the likely event of further issues, I am trying to establish where I stand with that as do not want to hand over the money only to never see it again.

Fully aware that obvious rent needs to be paid, and would possibly be prepared to do on a month by month basis. Please note this is not due to not having the money, I have the funds and could have paid the whole 12 months in advance but felt it unwise in case there were issues.  Foolishly thought what can go wrong in 6 months, the sad reality, a heck of a lot.

LL has stated previously in an email "we may terminate the tenancy without penalty and any funds refunded upon returning the keys".  There was no time frame given in that statement in terms of the offer expiring however I am not going to trust my experience to date with the assumption that I would see a full refund on any remaining months.

In theory I am not sure given the issues to date that I should have paid full rent for the last few weeks minimum, if not months. 

I would not trust the landlord as far as I could throw them to pay up as they claim they will.
I would estimate the chances of them honouring this would be 5%

aoleks

regardless of paperwork, you are allowed to get a registered gas engineer in your home (yes, it is your home, even if you rent) and check for any fault, especially since this kind of issues can easily lead to death (this is no exaggeration at all).

type your postcode here and choose an engineer based on reviews online. phone up, get them to come to your place and check everything, landlord doesn't need to know.

they have the power to disconnect any appliance that is deemed dangerous until your fix them, but that's the landlord's responsibility.