Landlord has failed in obligations
Submitted by Omar123 on Mon, 09/08/2010 - 10:03
Hi there,
I have lived in my rented property for over a year. My landlord has never given me any documents on deposit protection (I do not think they are aware of it). We have never had any certficates regarding gas or energy. In fact we have had nothing except paying our rent by direct debit. I do not want to lose my home if I ask for these things. Can i report them? Who shall I report them to?
thanks
Hi Omar, There are a number
Hi Omar,
There are a number of different elements to your question.
Firstly, if you are in rented accommodation and moved into that accommodation after 6th April 2007 any deposit that you paid to your Landlord or Letting Agent should have been protected via one of the three government approved tenancy deposit scheme. One of the provisions of the tenancy deposit scheme is that you, as the tenant, should be served with a certificate which confirms that the deposit has been protected.
If you have not received this certificate or suspect that the Landlord has not protected the deposit then you can issue county court proceeding against him as the penalty for not complying with the legislation is a court awarded penalty of three times the amount of the deposit. If you are certain that the Landlord has not complied with the scheme requirements you should issue proceedings against him, you will be able to do this via
https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome
As far as I know this is the only form of recourse that your have against your Landlord in respect of the deposit.
If you have not received a copy of the Gas Safety certificate which confirms that all of the gas appliances in the property are safe to use then the Landlord is in breach of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. These regulations state that the Landlord must issue a copy of the Gas Safety Certificate, also known as a CP12, within 28 days of a the annual check being performed and also prior to every tenant moving into a property. If the Landlord has not done this then you should report him immediately to the Health and Safety Executive. The consequences for non compliance are severe and the Landlord could face being fined a substantial amount of money and may also face a custodial sentence.
I hope that this information helps.
I am a Legal Advisor employed by Sarginsons Law and specialise in Civil Litigation matters. I deal with disputes between individuals and businesses including Landlord and Tenant issues, debt recovery and property disputes.
Telephone 02476 553181