Acura Posted December 30, 2020 Report Share Posted December 30, 2020 We changed agents as the last lot were useless, and now it appears our new ones aren’t much better. Ugh. I reminded them on 23rd November the GSC was due in January 9th. On 1st December they booked it in but didn’t inform me either they’d booked it or the date. I chased again on the 15th December and reiterated the 9th Jan and got a reply back the next day saying it was booked in for the 21st Jan but they would ring for cancellations. No reply to any of my emails since so I rang BG myself. They would never have given an appointment AFTER the GSC was due but the earliest they can possibly get there is the 14th. What’s the legal implications here? There’s a void of 4 days. So annoyed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richlist Posted December 30, 2020 Report Share Posted December 30, 2020 I'm no expert and I'm probably telling you some of what you already know. * The 4 days without a gsc means if something goes wrong during those 4 days it will be bad news for you. * You can't issue a valid s21 without a gsc. * A new gsc must be provided to tenants within 28 days. * Lets face it, you cannot be the only person to be late with a gsc renewal. I'd hazard a guess there are thousands of landlords who have done the same. A minor oversight is not what legislation is designed to punish so I doubt there is likely to be any penalty. Someone who knows more than me might be along shortly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acura Posted December 30, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2020 Thanks RL. I rang the NRLA for advice and they said I’m legally required to have the GSC current at all times. If anything happened in that void period we would be liable - not the agents or BG. They also told me without a GSC my LL insurance would be invalid. Also said it’s a very serious situation the agent has put us in and in the future to consider doing things like this myself and ask for a management fee reduction. Emailed the agent and her response was she called BG but they didn’t have anything available before the 21st. According to the BG agent I spoke to there had been no communication since December 1st, so one of them is wrong. I’ve arranged another company to do the GSC next Wednesday at a cost of £50. I’ll forward the invoice to the agent. Even if she did call the fact she’s not responded to any of my mails since 16th December is pretty lame. One terse email and a response within the hour, during Christmas week while she’s out of the country. No excuse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melboy Posted December 31, 2020 Report Share Posted December 31, 2020 16 hours ago, Richlist said: Someone who knows more than me might be along shortly. Good Morning.........😀 It never has been nor will I ever slag-off the competition but this is what I know from listening to my Son over the past couple of months. My Son has just completed 22 GSC for a private landlord and he is also under contract for GSC for a large privately run Letting Agency. BG is in trouble with providing it's normal services due to the Covid outbreak and a general shortage of staff. I believe BG has re written their Gas engineers contract of employment which means many have left BG. My Son has completed GSC for at least 3 landlords who have experience of the same problem as Acura has and also a private boiler repair last week for a landlord with a BG contract who had been informed by BG that there was nobody available until mid January. In a weeks time a boiler replacement as well from another BG Customer as my Son managed to get the boiler going having a used Potterton boiler PCB on board his van. Registered gas engineers are under no travel or working restrictions during this pandemic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acura Posted December 31, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2020 14 hours ago, Melboy said: Good Morning.........😀 It never has been nor will I ever slag-off the competition but this is what I know from listening to my Son over the past couple of months. My Son has just completed 22 GSC for a private landlord and he is also under contract for GSC for a large privately run Letting Agency. BG is in trouble with providing it's normal services due to the Covid outbreak and a general shortage of staff. I believe BG has re written their Gas engineers contract of employment which means many have left BG. My Son has completed GSC for at least 3 landlords who have experience of the same problem as Acura has and also a private boiler repair last week for a landlord with a BG contract who had been informed by BG that there was nobody available until mid January. In a weeks time a boiler replacement as well from another BG Customer as my Son managed to get the boiler going having a used Potterton boiler PCB on board his van. Registered gas engineers are under no travel or working restrictions during this pandemic. Thank you Melboy. That’s very helpful. It makes sense to hear that about BG as they didn’t have any availability for almost 2 months when the agents first called. I wouldn’t put it past them if they didn’t log the calls our agent is saying she made. I will question this with them next week, and if I was given the wrong information I a) need to apologize to our agent, and b) get a refund for the GSC they won’t be doing. I have another question now though. What happens if tenants refuse to let the Gassafe engineer into the house to check the hob? They’ve said he can go in the garage, but they don’t want him in the house. What happens then? The agent has written to them asking them to sign a disclaimer if they still refuse him access. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melboy Posted January 1, 2021 Report Share Posted January 1, 2021 Yes my Son has experienced a couple of tenants who have initially refused entry for GSC and there is not a lot he can do about that and the matter is then handed back to the Landlord/LA/Tenant. My Son has full PPE equipment suitable for what he has to do to complete a GSC and it is he that is taking the risk really rather than any tenant. I will ask him what the outcome was when entry was refused to the property. I suppose at the final outcome you could request a police escort as GSC come under the national gas safety laws or you could obtain a court order to cut off the main gas supply at the meter box for non compliance etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carryon Regardless Posted January 1, 2021 Report Share Posted January 1, 2021 I don't see how a T signed disclaimer would be valid. The responsibility for a gas inspection is set in legislation, saying "I don't want one" doesn't fit. I had the same issue with a T that refused entry for the inspection. I responded with no sympathy (poor T's anyway). I pointed out the the engineer has no reason to go upstairs, so they have choice to go there during the visit. No inspection and I would require the property back, they then complied. But I'm not sure how we repossess these days. As a minimum I would want evidence of my efforts to arrange and for the T's to refuse should there be any repercussions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richlist Posted January 1, 2021 Report Share Posted January 1, 2021 How to gain access for a landlord gas inspection and what to do if they refuse access. https://hamiltonfraser.co.uk/knowledge/gas-safety-inspection/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acura Posted January 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2021 On 12/31/2020 at 7:21 AM, Melboy said: Good Morning.........😀 It never has been nor will I ever slag-off the competition but this is what I know from listening to my Son over the past couple of months. My Son has just completed 22 GSC for a private landlord and he is also under contract for GSC for a large privately run Letting Agency. BG is in trouble with providing it's normal services due to the Covid outbreak and a general shortage of staff. I believe BG has re written their Gas engineers contract of employment which means many have left BG. My Son has completed GSC for at least 3 landlords who have experience of the same problem as Acura has and also a private boiler repair last week for a landlord with a BG contract who had been informed by BG that there was nobody available until mid January. In a weeks time a boiler replacement as well from another BG Customer as my Son managed to get the boiler going having a used Potterton boiler PCB on board his van. Registered gas engineers are under no travel or working restrictions during this pandemic. Thank you Melboy. That’s very helpful. It makes sense to hear that about BG as they didn’t have any availability for almost 2 months when the agents first called. I wouldn’t put it past them if they didn’t log the calls our agent is saying she made. I will question this with them next week, and if I was given the wrong information I a) need to apologize to our agent, and b) get a refund for the GSC they won’t be doing. I have another question now though. What happens if tenants refuse to let the Gassafe engineer into the house to check the hob? They’ve said he can go in the garage, but they don’t want him in the house. What happens then? The agent has written to them asking them to sign a disclaimer if they still refuse him access. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acura Posted January 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2021 We’ve found this https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/help-and-advice/covid-19-advice-and-guidance/landlords/ We’ve made attempts to get the GSC arranged but the tenants refuse access to the house now. They’ll allow the inspector into the garage but not the house. Not a lot we can do other than document it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richlist Posted January 2, 2021 Report Share Posted January 2, 2021 That raises the question.........are they still allowing regular inspections ? * See my link further up the page.....I don't know if that adds anything to what you already know. * My attitude would be ....If they want to cause me problems then I will reciprocate. I'd let them know the tenancy will be ended at the earliest opportunity and... * That I would be mentioning it on any reference I'm asked to provide. Letting property would be so much easier if there were no tenants involved ! Happy New Year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acura Posted January 2, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2021 47 minutes ago, Richlist said: That raises the question.........are they still allowing regular inspections ? * See my link further up the page.....I don't know if that adds anything to what you already know. * My attitude would be ....If they want to cause me problems then I will reciprocate. I'd let them know the tenancy will be ended at the earliest opportunity and... * That I would be mentioning it on any reference I'm asked to provide. Letting property would be so much easier if there were no tenants involved ! Happy New Year. I did see the link RL. Thanks, and sorry for not acknowledging it yesterday. This is more a case of them being petrified of the virus than being obstructive about access. There was a family emergency before Christmas so they had to go overseas to visit her family. They were gone far longer (5-6 weeks we believe) than we thought they would be so that caused a worry with security and temperatures. At least with constant nagging we got an inspection done during that period but they insisted they had a family member attend at the same time. Only issue we could see was they let the new shower doors get completely scaled up but that’ll clean up hopefully. They've brought her aging and unwell parents back with them and they are isolating. We cannot gain access to the house if they are isolating so all we can do is get the boiler serviced and checked and we’ve done our bit. We cannot force them to let the inspector in, so as long as there’s evidence we have tried to complete the GSC we wouldn’t be penalized according to the GasSafe link in my post above. Tenants. Who’d have ‘em?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carryon Regardless Posted January 2, 2021 Report Share Posted January 2, 2021 'If' I read this right, they are scared of the possibility of contracting the virus during inspection, but more for their non tenant parents. But bringing their parents from overseas wasn't a concern. I wonder how effectively shielding the parents during the journey was going to be achieved. Whichever type of port requires human interaction. If they drove there is possibility of better shielding, but still limited. Were there no toilet breaks? Did they not consider the possibility of spreading it rather than contracting it? Low intelligence people tend to only see from their limited point of view. Tell 'em to p off, they had tenancy responsibilities before the parents arrived, they should have factored that in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acura Posted January 2, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2021 I agree with you CoR. My husband less so as he tends to be more lenient. If we tell them ‘GSC or leave’ we will then be saddled with a void period (we won’t be able to show the house with them in it), all the costs of getting it re-let and GOKs what other costs we’d face. It’s our old home - a 4 bed detached property - so it’s a substantial rent we can’t afford to lose at the moment. So, we have little choice, but that doesn’t stop me being incredibly annoyed at the whole situation, not least because there’s the added “I don’t go to bed until 3 am so I refuse morning appointments”. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richlist Posted January 2, 2021 Report Share Posted January 2, 2021 I agree that there is little you can do given the circumstances except follow the guidelines regarding keeping records of your requests. It's worth bearing in mind that owner occupiers are not required to obtain a GSC. There are probably hundreds of thousands of properties around the country that have never been checked since their gas central heating was installed and many of them will not have been regularly serviced unless there was a breakdown. Your rental property that was gas safety checked 12 months ago and more recently serviced is undoubtedly far safer than most of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melboy Posted January 7, 2021 Report Share Posted January 7, 2021 Just a follow up from today's news............... My Son has been called out to several boiler breakdowns this week from some very disgruntled BG customers who are on the BG boiler breakdown guarantee plan. He has even picked up a boiler replacement from one customer who refuses to give BG the job. "British Gas engineers have started a five-day strike amid a dispute over accusations of a 'fire and rehire' policy. GMB, the union representing employees of British Gas, said the strike will cause 'massive disruption to customers in the depths of winter'. It said several members were mounting socially distanced picket lines across the UK after being 'provoked' into taking industrial action. They claim British Gas's parent company Centrica tried to force through pay cuts by telling workers they will lose their jobs if they don't accept them. Employees would then be rehired on a lesser-paid contract. The walkout will last for five days, with warnings of further stoppages if the row is not resolved". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richlist Posted January 7, 2021 Report Share Posted January 7, 2021 I have had a policy for almost 30 years of never knowingly dealing with any company that has the word British in its name. It's helped me avoid many disappointments !😇 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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