Landlord has not replaced condemmend gas hob

[RobertaMary]

Ok been in rented bungalow for 6 weeks now, day 3 (day before xmas eve) i had to have Transco out as gas hob was leaking. He condemmed it & cut it off, landlords been told by letting agent it needs replacing immediately along with the very elderly split level gas cooker. She is dragging her feet agreeing to the quote from the letting agents appointed gas engineer & now says she will find the equipment herslef online for a cheaper price. All very well but after 5 weeks |& Xmas with no means of cooking other than microwave we are a tad fed up to say the least! How long is reasonable to keep us waiting , the letting agent seems unable to give a straight answer & i dont know if laws on our side or not?

[cathfromsaron]

if you are renting a place with the heating and kitchen equipment included, then you should have the items replaced straight away and compensation paid for inconvenience!

[lcg]

refuse to pay rent until she sorts it. don't give a stuff about legal bits and bobs - i think that she is bang out of order and requires a wake up call. you may be better off finding another landlord (in the long run!) and saving the rent up might help that happen. absolutely outrageous! x

[MASS1961]

Tell the agent to contact his client, the landlord, and tell him you will pay the next rent when the job is done. I did this a couple of years ago while waiting and waiting for a badly leaking roof to be repaired. I had a new roof within a week or two. Hold on to your rent until the job is done, then pay so you don't end up owing, don't be tempted to spend it. You do have rights and the equipment is not fit for purpose.

[RobertaMary]

unfortunately due to hubby losing his civil service job & tied accommodation recently we had not enough credit rating ( well more that i didnt as we lived in a military establishment that was never registered as having a flat in it so classed as business blah blah 7 i never gained a credit score..blah blah another long story....) so i cashed in savings & paid a year in front.i know crazy but only way to get into rented place. So cannot with hold rent, the landlady lives in Spain..is alederly & doesnt use email or even a phone it seems so has been a blinking nightmare. I was hoping i could throw some legal type speak at the letting agent but it seems they are as frustrated as we are now

[lcg]

well...you're stuffed, really. in that case, i would purchase the cheapest cooker i could and attempt to bill her for it. probably the only way you will get something done about it. never, ever pay up front again.

[Mamyalynne]

HSE (Health and safety executive)

"Landlords must ensure that gas appliances installed in their rented properties are maintained and provided with a current Landlord Gas Safety Certificate.
I urge Landlords everywhere, if they have not already done so, to contact a gas fitter registered under the Gas Safe Register to make sure their gas appliances are safe.

CHSE would also urge any private tenant, in a property with a gas appliance installed, to ensure that their landlord has provided them with a current gas safety certificate."

[DTCwordfan]

Open a bank account and in the name of you and include "Escrow on Rent Account" in the title.

Tell the letting agent that you are doing this, and make the rent payments to the account - and show them the accounts that you are paying.

Do not use this money for anything else - though once settled, you can keep any accrued interest.

If you are compassionate, you could pay the letting agent his/her % of the rent so that they do not lose out on their own cash flow. And instruct the agent that you will pay the amount owing only when the work is satisfactorily installed and a gas engineer has certified it for the reconnection to take place.

[Mamyalynne]

Maybe contact them for the advice and relevant laws to quote to your agent/landlord.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/index.htm

[RobertaMary]

i had no choice, hubby is 60 & made redundant from military job with tied accommodation after 22 yrs service in role...governmental cuts etc. Had 1 month to find somewhere & as i say due to incompitance off the MoD the place had never been registered so hence i had never acrued any credit rating in the 7 yrs i lived there. They admit its there fault but damage was done, too late for me to get a mortgage (also not so easy with zero credit rating)..............so i wasnt overly keen to pay a year upfront but had no other option as not elidgbable for housing association. Cardboard box at Xmas wasnt an option :(

[ladybirder]

The agent should be sorting this for you if they are managing the property in her absence. Here is a link to Shelter, get in touch with them, they are there to help people in your situation.
http://england.shelte...rs_and_bad_conditions

[Craftypig]

At the very least you should buy yourself a decent but reasonably priced cooker to put you on. Whether you get the money back for it or not is immaterial, you cant live off of microwaved food indefinitely, you have waited 5 weeks, who's to say you wont be waiting another 5 week's or even longer.....

[RobertaMary]

landlords agreed to the gas engineers quote now but it will take him 7-10 working days to just get the equipment then has to install it! lets hope we have it before Easter!