Landlord obligations Gas Safety and Electrical inspections

[smileymikey]

Just a quick question. We have an elusive Dublin based private landlord ( we are in the U.K). In six years we haven't had a gas or electrical check on the property. What regulations if any are not being complied with and are they taken seriously by the authorities ?

Any information would be gratefully received.

[buggalugs]

Gas has to be done yearly, electrical is still optional.

[TooMany2cvs]

smileymikey said:

We have an elusive Dublin based private landlord ( we are in the U.K).

Whole raft of stuff that foreign-resident landlords have to comply with - not least you MUST have an address in England or Wales (assuming you're in E/W, not Scotland or NI) for him/his agent.

Do you pay a letting agent, or are you registered to withhold the tax directly from the rent you pay him, for a start?
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/paying-tax-on-rent-to-...

An annual gas safety certificate is a legal requirement. No way around that for him. Without that, he cannot issue s21 notice. Is your deposit in a protection scheme?

[smileymikey]

buggalugs said:

Gas has to be done yearly, electrical is still optional.

Thanks for that. Is it viewed as a biggy if its not done for six years ?

[Wings]

TooMany2cvs said:

Whole raft of stuff that foreign-resident landlords have to comply with - not least you MUST have an address in England or Wales (assuming you're in E/W, not Scotland or NI) for him/his agent.

Do you pay a letting agent, or are you registered to withhold the tax directly from the rent you pay him, for a start?
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/paying-tax-on-rent-to-...

An annual gas safety certificate is a legal requirement. No way around that for him. Without that, he cannot issue s21 notice. Is your deposit in a protection scheme?

^^^^agree and a good reply for the OP, although i would add that a copy of the gas safety certificate must be supplied to a tenant, with either the LL or LA retaining records for two (2) years.

Incidentally as a footnote i would add for LLs reading the posts, that consideration is being given to allowing gas safety checks to be carried out in the same time period as vehicle MOT checks, ie. Up to two (2) months before annual check date is due. Also legislation soon to be on the statutory books, for electrical tests to be carried out annually similar to the present gas safety check.

[hairyben]

smileymikey said:

buggalugs said:

Gas has to be done yearly, electrical is still optional.

Thanks for that. Is it viewed as a biggy if its not done for six years ?

its all a bit wet tbh.

The landlord has a duty to provide you with a safe electrical system, and the only way he can prove it is safe is to maintain (ie test and inspect) it, but as the law doesn't demand that specifically it's all a bit hit and miss. Some landlords I work for insist on the minimum right down to refusing testing as it'll obligate them to improve issues they pretend ignorance of, others want it all tip top and bang up to date.

A valid elec report would be his defence in a court of law but many prefer to wing it.

[chunder27]

I had a massive issue with a redundant gas terminal in a rented house

Landlord cut of the gas before i moved in, fair enough,m I knew that, but the meter was still in there

Was ther 4 years, after 2 I changed electric supplier, and months later started getting emails frombthe old supplier about cancelled direct debits

Turns out the idiot should ahve got the Gas board to remove the meter as just because it was there I was paying for it!

Best bit was I got full deposit back despite the house being slightly worse ofr wear when i left it, as he had no idea, and I had paid hundreds in unnecessary gas charges

[Wings]

hairyben said:

its all a bit wet tbh.

The landlord has a duty to provide you with a safe electrical system, and the only way he can prove it is safe is to maintain (ie test and inspect) it, but as the law doesn't demand that specifically it's all a bit hit and miss. Some landlords I work for insist on the minimum right down to refusing testing as it'll obligate them to improve issues they pretend ignorance of, others want it all tip top and bang up to date.

A valid elec report would be his defence in a court of law but many prefer to wing it.

^^^^agree, this LL arranges checks on both gas and electrics before the annual check dates, where there is a change in tenants.

[anonymous-user]

chunder27 said:

I had a massive issue with a redundant gas terminal in a rented house

Landlord cut of the gas before i moved in, fair enough,m I knew that, but the meter was still in there

Was ther 4 years, after 2 I changed electric supplier, and months later started getting emails frombthe old supplier about cancelled direct debits

Turns out the idiot should ahve got the Gas board to remove the meter as just because it was there I was paying for it!

Best bit was I got full deposit back despite the house being slightly worse ofr wear when i left it, as he had no idea, and I had paid hundreds in unnecessary gas charges

In what way is that a ‘massive issue’?

Seems you were as remiss as the LL in paying for something you weren’t using.

[anonymous-user]

Have always had annual gas checks and biennial electricity checks. It’s not expensive and a good way of making sure you don’t have a dumb tenant messing things up in some way.

[hairyben]

REALIST123 said:

Have always had annual gas checks and biennial electricity checks. It’s not expensive and a good way of making sure you don’t have a dumb tenant messing things up in some way.

official guidance is to have testing carried out on change of occupation - it has been known for tenants to feel the need to carry out diy modifications to an installation, which a landlord would be legally culpable for.

[sunbeam alpine]

Can't believe that this has been let via any decent agent. I'm an overseas landlord, and the agencies always take care of this sort of thing.

Gas safety check (together with boiler service/general checkover) annually.

No electrical appliances in properties. As another poster said, electrics are checked on change of tenant - not yet found a problem.

[Alucidnation]

Wings said:

Also legislation soon to be on the statutory books, for electrical tests to be carried out annually similar to the present gas safety check.

Interesting.

Any further info on that?

Anyway, a full electrical inspection is recommended at least every five years and a visual inspection between tenancies.

Edited by Alucidnation on Monday 1st January 08:32

[buggalugs]

The letting agent that manages mine told me that I didn’t have to have the electrical inspection done but that if I did I would have to fix any issues arising. I had it done as I wouldn’t want to put anyone in danger. Purely because I hadn’t been in there for years and who knows what goes on when you’re not there.

[MJG280]

The penalties for non-compliance of the landlord are briefly
No EPC £4,000 fine Council enforcement
No Gas safety Cert £6,000 fine H&S enforcement
No Smoke Alarm £6,000 fine Council enforcement
Open Fire with no CO Alarm £6,000 fine H&S enforcement (I think)
No Deposit Protection Deposit return and up to X3 payment to tenant. Tenant has to apply to court

Without these certs in place and deposit protection the landlord cannot serve a valid notice to quit. The tenant should have been served with copies of all these items plus others at the time of the letting. If the agents dealt wholly with the letting then they also have a problem asthey should not have advertised/Let the property without an EPC and a Gas Safety Cert

If a tenant suffers physical injury because of non-compliance with Gas Safety Cert or Smoke/CO alarms then the party responsible will be very likely receive a custodial sentence and huge fine.

[smileymikey]

MJG280 said:

The penalties for non-compliance of the landlord are briefly
No EPC £4,000 fine Council enforcement
No Gas safety Cert £6,000 fine H&S enforcement
No Smoke Alarm £6,000 fine Council enforcement
Open Fire with no CO Alarm £6,000 fine H&S enforcement (I think)
No Deposit Protection Deposit return and up to X3 payment to tenant. Tenant has to apply to court

Without these certs in place and deposit protection the landlord cannot serve a valid notice to quit. The tenant should have been served with copies of all these items plus others at the time of the letting. If the agents dealt wholly with the letting then they also have a problem asthey should not have advertised/Let the property without an EPC and a Gas Safety Cert

If a tenant suffers physical injury because of non-compliance with Gas Safety Cert or Smoke/CO alarms then the party responsible will be very likely receive a custodial sentence and huge fine.

Thanks this is interesting. She is trying to dress a notice to quit that gives us a little bit longer than eight weeks as doing us a major favour. However we have never had a certificate for the gas in addition to no inspection for six years. No inspection full stop on the electric. She turned up unannounced between Christmas and New Year with her young daughter after no real direct contact with us all this time expecting to be let in and allowed to see the property. We had guests at the house and refused her entry. My wife was and still is very upset.

[Ken Figenus]

She is in big serious breach for the gas (electrical is optional unless its an HMO) and I would seriously put the wind up her for being a rubbish landlord interested in the money but not the responsibility. Hate landlords who give the industry a bad name like that - let alone the basic rudeness of turning up without prescribed notice.

[TooMany2cvs]

smileymikey said:

She is trying to dress a notice to quit that gives us a little bit longer than eight weeks as doing us a major favour.

s21?

You aren't going anywhere unless you want to. Even when the notice expires, you're there until a court says "Time to go now", and they simply won't with all those omissions on the LL's part.

Even if everything was bob-on, she can't just rock up and expect to come in. Quiet enjoyment. She needs to give notice to inspect.

[Wings]

smileymikey said:

Thanks this is interesting. She is trying to dress a notice to quit that gives us a little bit longer than eight weeks as doing us a major favour. However we have never had a certificate for the gas in addition to no inspection for six years. No inspection full stop on the electric. She turned up unannounced between Christmas and New Year with her young daughter after no real direct contact with us all this time expecting to be let in and allowed to see the property. We had guests at the house and refused her entry. My wife was and still is very upset.

You should sit tight, say nothing to what you now know to either your LL or the agent. Let the paperwork follow, arrive in court, then say about lack of gas safety certs. etc. etc. etc., case will be thrown out, they the LL, agent will have to start all over again, or bribe you to leave.

[Wings]

Alucidnation said:

Interesting.

Any further info on that?

Anyway, a full electrical inspection is recommended at least every five years and a visual inspection between tenancies.

Edited by Alucidnation on Monday 1st January 08:32

The Group made up of representatives from landlord, tenant and fire safety bodies and local and national government agreed that some form of regulation is required for mandatory electrical safety checks in the PRS. It is hoped that checks will ensure that electrical installations are satisfactory and where they are not, compel landlords to carry out necessary works. The Group also recommended that an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) should be commissioned by landlords with a copy given to any new tenant. To align with standards in Scotland, the majority of the Group also agreed that 5 yearly mandatory electrical safety checks should be set out in any secondary legislation. Where there is a change in tenant within the 5 years a visual check of electrical installations should be encouraged as ‘best practice.’

Portable appliance testing for small electrical items supplied by a landlord are not a legal requirement at present and are unlikely to be so after any secondary legislation is passed. The Group agreed that landlords should be encouraged to have any items tested and visually checked when there is a change in tenant. The Group also agreed that landlords should be encouraged to install Residual Current Devices (RCDs). RCDs will switch off electricity automatically in the event of an earth fault.

The Group also agreed that these electrical checks should be carried out by competent trained persons similar to Gas Safe engineers. These persons and the training program will be developed by the industry Electrotechnical Assessment Specification (EAS) Management Committee.

Finally, similar to the scheme adopted in Scotland, the requirements to inspect and test electrical installations in England in the PRS will be phased in. The requirements are likely to begin with new tenancies first followed by existing tenancies. Where the Group have not recommended legislation but ‘best practice’ and encouragement, material on best practice guidance is proposed with a publication date prior to the secondary legislation coming into force.


This secondary legislation is really necessary in light of, for example, a landlord’s obligation to keep installations, including electrical, in good repair and proper working order (L&T Act 1985) however, the sector appears to require it and its likely to come into force. The process of completing the checks and handing tenants any relevant paperwork will no doubt be similar to that for Gas Safe certificates. So, while it is one more thing to remember and pay for it will hopefully not be too burdensome. The report has not been formally accepted by the government and they could decline to go with some or all of its recommendations but it is expected that most, if not all, of the report will find its way into the final legislation.


https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploa...