Money Moral Dilemma: Should my tenant pay for missing the gas engineer's appointment?

HillStreetBlues

theartfullodger said:

Landlord's responsibility.  Don't give the decent landlords a bad name:  please.

As a tenant I disagree.
It's the tenant that has a bad name. If you arrange an appointment and though your stupidity don't attend then cough up,  If you do have a memory of a goldfish and can't be trusted, then don't agree and let LL do it all.

Androids

The tenant had agreed to be in when the appointment was made so they took on that responsibility. I would hope that there is a clause in their tenancy agreement ensuring that they understand they have to comply with inspections, repairs and surveys. The Gas Safety Certificate is your responsibility as a landlord but the tenant also has responsibilities. 
I would ask them to pay. It is their fault that the unnecessary bill was created. If you don't charge them, then how many times and over what sort of period are you expected to foot the bill for their disrespect and neglectful behaviour?
(This has happened to me where the tenant refused to allow the Gas Safety engineer in on three occasions despite agreeing the appointments. As we drew near the expiry of the existing Gas Safety Certificate I was advised to serve a S21 Notice to Quit on them. They immediately contacted and agreed to be in and allow the Managing Agent to be present and it got sorted. Landlords are not always the problem and can be is very serious trouble for failing to comply with the regulations. My tenants purchased the property from me. They were dreadful people.)

Afourteen

I hope that this was a simple, forgetful mistake on the tenants part. As the Gas Safety Certificate is a Tax Deductible expense I'd be inclined to pay the call out charge this time along with the actual work.
How much time do you have before the existing gas safety certificate expires? Can your gas technician do the necessary work before the expiry date? Can he attend before the expiry date? Is the gas supply for heating or just for cooking? Is this for mains or LPG gas? 
Sorry lots of questions I know. As a LandLord myself I request the gas engineer to attend in the 4 weeks preceding the expiry - I usually make the appointment for the next GSC at the time this years GSC is completed. I try to ensure the GSC never expires. I also expect to be present at the time the work is done - I also perform one of the building inspections at the same time. 
(in fact if I can't be there when any repair or maintenance work is completed if I'm unable to be there when the work is down I will do a building check shortly afterwards - something I learnt from when I used a letting agent - cause that is what they would do.) 

CapeTown

Shell1989 said:

Interesting... I think it depends. My tenants always want to be at home when work is being carried out, and never allow me to go there and attend to the appointment in their absence. If this is the case with yours, that she opted to be the one at home for the gas appointment instead of allowing you to enter in her absence, then she should pay, morally. However, if you 'delegated' this to her to save you from going, then you should pay, since it's not your tenant's problem, legally.

"Never allow me to go there and attend to the appointment..."       what!!!! Who is running the show here. Certainly not you as a landlord.  These appointments are your responsibility.  You must give your tenants fair notice of them, but they cannot prevent you attending if you have done so.

RHemmings

CapeTown said:

Shell1989 said:

Interesting... I think it depends. My tenants always want to be at home when work is being carried out, and never allow me to go there and attend to the appointment in their absence. If this is the case with yours, that she opted to be the one at home for the gas appointment instead of allowing you to enter in her absence, then she should pay, morally. However, if you 'delegated' this to her to save you from going, then you should pay, since it's not your tenant's problem, legally.

"Never allow me to go there and attend to the appointment..."       what!!!! Who is running the show here. Certainly not you as a landlord.  These appointments are your responsibility.  You must give your tenants fair notice of them, but they cannot prevent you attending if you have done so.

I don't believe this is correct. The tenant can refuse permission for the landlord and/or gas safety engineer to enter the property. That may put the tenant in breach of contract, and the landlord can then pursue that through the courts. However, it may still remain a criminal act for the landlord to enter the property without permission.

The NRLA has a page on access which covers this. 

https://www.nrla.org.uk/resources/managing-your-tenancy/accessing-the-property-during-a-tenancy

What if the tenant refuses access to the property?

It is important to understand here that a tenant refusing access is a breach of contract but entering without their permission may be considered a criminal act. Given this, it is not advisable for you to enter the property after access has been refused.

If a tenant refuses access you should make them aware that this is a breach of contract and may lead to them being held responsible for any damage caused to the property as a result. Take this opportunity to remind them of their contractual obligations to allow access.

Alternatively, if the tenant still refuses access, depending on the seriousness of the reason you need access, you may also consider taking action to repossess the property or seek to enforce the contract via an injunction to gain access.

Access for gas safety inspections

Often landlords in the social housing sector encounter a lot of difficulty in obtaining access to carry out gas safety inspections. Generally speaking, this does not seem to be as much of a problem in the private rented sector. Unfortunately, the relevant gas safety regulations do not confer any explicit power of access, although it is generally accepted that you can rely on any tenancy agreement clause allowing access for repairs or the statutory right under Section 11, as this is an inspection to see whether a repair may be needed.

What if a tenant refuses access for gas safety inspections?

Some tenants will refuse access for gas safety inspections. In these cases, the Health and Safety Executive have confirmed in the past that they will not look to prosecute landlords who have made 3 genuine efforts to gain access to the property. However, this may prevent you from using a Section 21 notice if the gas safety certificate expires before service.

Landlords should document in writing each of these attempts and keep a record of how access was refused.

Just_An_Opinion

MSE can answer this as its legal and not moral.

The landlord cannot charge the tenant. Its 100% the landlords responsibility.

The landlord can give the tenant notice that work is to be complete and then attend the property with the Gas Engineer. The Landlord choose to pass on the responsibility to the tenants but they cannot pass on Accountability.

Would the landlord have done the same thing if they had a builder attending to give a quote for a £100k extension? 

HoppertyHop

This is a very dark area.  I work for a Gas Engineer and we would invoice the L/L for a missed appointment.  What the L/L then does is between the L/L and the tenant.  If the L/L has a clause in the tenancy agreement regarding these matters then that is a difference story altogether as then the tenant is in breach of contract.  I do know that if the property is fully managed by an agent then they do charge the tenant for missed appointments like this.  It is the L/L responsibility for the gas check to be done as it would be the L/L who would receive a fine and not the tenant if the property is rented without a gas check being in place.

langlauf

MSE_Kelvin said:

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...

I'm a landlord and have to get a yearly gas safety certificate for the property I let. With my tenant's agreement, I gave the gas safety engineer her telephone number, so they could arrange the visit. On the day itself, my tenant forgot the appointment and was out at the arranged time, and the engineer has now issued a call-out charge to cover his time. But who should pay: me or the tenant?

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At the end of the day you could probably claim the call out charge on your end of year tax return as an eligible expense

user1977

Just_An_Opinion said:

MSE can answer this as it's legal and not moral.

Indeed, maybe @MSE_Kelvin can comment on why something which actually has a legally correct answer is being presented here as purely a moral conundrum?

silvercar

The tenant will pay one way or another. If they don’t pay directly they will pay in increased rent, the landlord will cover the cost one way or another.