Neglected boiler

Kieran_Burns

Just had a Gas Safe guy come 'round and declare my boiler as unsafe. I'm in a rented place and the landlord / letting agents have never done any maintenance work on it. The engineer was a little shocked at this.

Anyone know what my legal position is on this?

seajays

Landlord is responsible - should be ensuring a 12 month safety check is carried out.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/GAS/domestic/faqlandlord.htm

Also should supply you with alternative heating:

If a gas appliance has been switched off by a Gas Safe registered engineer it is because it is unsafe and should not be used. No matter how inconvenient the situation is for the tenant such action helps to ensure their safety. If a heating appliance has been disconnected then you must provide your tenant with emergency heating, for more information on this contact your local authority whilst arranging for appropriate remedial work by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

... and your rights/duties are here: http://www.hse.gov.uk/GAS/domestic/faqtenant.htm

davis

Yep totally landlord's fault and problem.

Many landlords now disconnect gas completely 'cos it's such a hassle. The recent changes to inspection rules just made things worse.

veronese68

I was going to suggest taking her out for dinner and listening to what she says.

qube

Veronese68 wrote:

I was going to suggest taking her out for dinner and pretend to be listening to what she says.

ftfy

seajays

Veronese68 wrote:

I was going to suggest taking her out for dinner and listening to what she says.

My reaction:

:? :?: … [tick, tick] …

:?: … [tick, tick] …

:shock: :idea: [tick, tick] …



…I get there in the end!

arran77

Qube wrote:

Veronese68 wrote:

I was going to suggest taking her out for dinner and pretend to be listening to what she says.

ftfy

Kieran_Burns

Thanks for the advice and a laugh. Phoned the letting agents and kept using the terms "legal requirement" "law broken" it was all good stuff....

(edit: https://extranet.hse.gov.uk/lfserver/external/lgsr1 .... that could be fun)

pblakeney

Qube wrote:

Veronese68 wrote:

I was going to suggest taking her out for dinner and pretend to be listening to what she says.

ftfy

Add on....and give her a right good seeing to.

redvee

As others have said, it's the landlords' responsibility to sort out. When the safety check is due on the boiler in my flat the LL calls or texts me and leaves it up to me to arrange a suitable date with the plumber to visit.

Daz555

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Just had a Gas Safe guy come 'round and declare my boiler as unsafe. I'm in a rented place and the landlord / letting agents have never done any maintenance work on it. The engineer was a little shocked at this.

Anyone know what my legal position is on this?

Has it been disconnected? Or has it failed on some checks - not the same thing.

A boiler can fail safety checks but still be a completely legal installation. This is because they measure the current installation against today's standard even though the boiler was probably installed to a different set of standards.

In the house I let for example - about 5 years ago added a bracket half way along a boiler flue because the span between brackets was too long due to the modern standard being tighter. I did not HAVE to make the change though. Also on this year's report I've been asked to removed a section of boxing which covers the flue to make it look tidier - new standard states it is not ok to hide the flue in the manner mine is hidden. Again I'm not forced to do the work but will do so anyway.

Anyway none of this may apply to yourself - if it is genuinely unsafe then I hope it is disconnected!

As for landlords disconnected gas and going leccy only - not surprised. It is a nightmare getting a proper answer from Gas (British Gas etc) engineers about which of the notices or warnings on the report must be done and which are advisory.

Kieran_Burns

It's got a bloody big sticker on it and I was required to give my permission for the gas feed to be turned off.

I've told the letting agents and no reply as yet... not going to be long before that form gets filled in and they face a call from the HSE....

cyclingprop

Kieran_Burns wrote:

It's got a bloody big sticker on it and I was required to give my permission for the gas feed to be turned off.

I've told the letting agents and no reply as yet... not going to be long before that form gets filled in and they face a call from the HSE....

Why hasn't it been filled in already?

Kieran_Burns

Giving them chance - which has just run out.

dodgy

My wife's boyfriend (before she met me) was killed by a faulty gas boiler that was leaking poisonous fumes into the house.

slowbike

dodgy wrote:

My wife's boyfriend (before she met me) was killed by a faulty gas boiler that was leaking poisonous fumes into the house.

Always a good idea to have a CO detector in the house ...

elbowloh

dodgy wrote:

My wife's boyfriend (before she met me) was killed by a faulty gas boiler that was leaking poisonous fumes into the house.

Fortunately my own situation didn't result in such a tragedy, but when we moved into our student house (back in the day), my housemates and I complained of headaches and tiredness for weeks. The landlord didn't listen as the boiler had been inspected and certified in the week before we moved in.

We continued to complain and eventually the landlord gave in and got a technician to look at it, to find there was a massive whole in it and it was leaning CO into the house. It wasn't too much exaggeration to say we could have all been killed.

To make matters worse, the landlord was one of my housemate' dad!

seajays

Slowbike wrote:

dodgy wrote:

My wife's boyfriend (before she met me) was killed by a faulty gas boiler that was leaking poisonous fumes into the house.

Always a good idea to have a CO detector in the house ...

This. They're not that expensive, and could save your life. Unlike a fire, (where if you're awake you'll probably smell the smoke before a smoke alarm goes off), with carbon monoxide poisoning, you may never know.

cyclingprop

Heading to Nest for this reason:
https://support.nest.com/article/How-th ... -emergency

Kieran_Burns

Just to add a fun twist to the tale. The landlord is Gas Safe Registered... So he's obviously going to come along and 'fix' the boiler.

CiB

I hope you get it fixed asap KB.

If it does all go pear-shaped tho and you end up on the wrong end of a dose of CO poisoning, before it happens can you arrange for your bikes to be sent via internal post to me?

Thx in advance; all the best & all that obvs.

rjsterry

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Just to add a fun twist to the tale. The landlord is Gas Safe Registered... So he's obviously going to come along and 'fix' the boiler.

I'm sure you're already on this, but you can check this against the Gas Safe Register's database

http://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/help/check_a_business_or_engineer.aspx

Kieran_Burns

rjsterry wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Just to add a fun twist to the tale. The landlord is Gas Safe Registered... So he's obviously going to come along and 'fix' the boiler.

I'm sure you're already on this, but you can check this against the Gas Safe Register's database

http://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/help/check_a_business_or_engineer.aspx

I've checked and he is.

slowbike

and you have a carbon monoxide alarm?

Kieran_Burns

Nope

tgotb

CiB wrote:

If it does all go pear-shaped tho and you end up on the wrong end of a dose of CO poisoning, before it happens can you arrange for your bikes to be sent via internal post to me?

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Nope

2nd dibs on the bikes please!

veronese68

Slowbike wrote:

dodgy wrote:

My wife's boyfriend (before she met me) was killed by a faulty gas boiler that was leaking poisonous fumes into the house.

Always a good idea to have a CO detector in the house ...

I lost 4 friends to CO poisoning some years back, well worth having one.

slowbike

TGOTB wrote:

CiB wrote:

If it does all go pear-shaped tho and you end up on the wrong end of a dose of CO poisoning, before it happens can you arrange for your bikes to be sent via internal post to me?

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Nope

2nd dibs on the bikes please!

Anyone got dibs on the cape?!

and can we have a ceremonial burning of the underpants?

UndercoverElephant

Slowbike wrote:

and can we have a ceremonial burning of the underpants?

That's no way to speak of his cremation!

Kieran_Burns

It worrys me how well you remember my posts...

Kieran_Burns

Landlord has been 'round, replacing boiler and left alternate heating.