Let’s begin with the primary question, which is whether or not a landlord has any recourse. If they fail to deliver a Gas Safety Certificate Cost London to the tenant before they move in. The consensus among the three judges was that the obligation outlined in Regulation. To provide a new tenant with a copy of the most recent gas safety record did count as one of the legally mandated necessities.
On the other hand, most of the Court concluded. That the time limit specified in the Gas Safety Regulations, which states that the Gas Safety Certificate Cost London. Must be provided before the occupation, is not applicable for section 21. This indicates that it is possible to remedy a failure to provide the tenant with a gas certificate cost London. Before work by delivering the das safety record late. As long as it is given before the service of the s.21 notice. However, this is only the case if the gas safety record is provided before the s.21 notice is served.
Judgment Regarding Gas Safety Certificate
Patten LJ conducted a comprehensive review of the pieces above of legislation in his leading judgment. The interpretation of the 2015 Regulations, specifically Regulation 2(2). Which is the provision that outlines the disapplication of the 28-day period. Was the foundation for his decision and King LJ’s decision. It was apparent that the 28-day period for compliance was not applied to current tenants. And Patten LJ and King LJ were unable to understand. Why Parliament would have intended a more severe sanction regarding landlords’ responsibilities with regard to new tenants.
The Lord Justice King remarked that “such a disparity of outcome”. Does not seem to fit with the legislative scheme as a whole. Patten LJ pointed out that the obligation to provide a Gas Safety Certificate Cost London is only triggered. Once that person becomes a tenant and not before. While one explanation for this difference in treatment could be. That a new tenant should have sight of the gas certificate before deciding whether to enter into the tenancy. The duty to provide a Gas Safety Certificate Cost London is only triggered once that person becomes a tenant. As a result, this does not explain why new tenants should be entitled to a higher level of protection.
In support of their respective interpretations, both Patten LJ and King LJ cited several other factors, including the following:
The primary sanction for breach of landlords’ gas safety responsibilities is not. The restrictions on serving an s.21 notice, as this is not allowed under the law. A criminal offense is considered to have been committed in the event of non-compliance. “The imposition by s.21A of a bar to the service of an s.21 notice is therefore only collateral to these sanctions and. At best, a spur to compliance,” wrote Patten LJ in his opinion.
The landlord can satisfy the remaining prerequisites for serving a section 21 notice before the actual delivery of the information. For instance, infractions of the law governing tenancy deposits can be remedied by the tenant receiving their deposit back.
Although the phrase “at a time” in section 21A of the Housing Act of 1988 was not. By itself, sufficient to imply that the breach was automatically capable of being remedied, it did mean. That it was anticipated that the landlord would be able to take some action to rectify the violation.
Lord Justice Moylan offered a dissenting opinion. In his view, the only time limit that was removed was the one that applied to existing tenants. And this was because the 28 days for compliance was expressly disapproved. According to him, a plain reading of the legislation would create. A disparity in the outcome between new and existing tenants. This disparity would be the result.
Checks on the Level of Safety
This was the second argument the tenant brought up in the Respondent’s Notice. That they sent regarding the subsequent gas safety check. It was argued that because the double-check was performed more than a year after the previous statement. The s.21 notice was invalid because the Gas Safety Certificate Cost London was not a copy of the record made by the gas safety regulations’ requirements. This argument was based on the fact that the first check was performed. More than a year after the previous review. In a separate case that the county court heard, a tenant had successfully used. This line of reasoning to their advantage.
Patten LJ was quicker to dismiss this argument, confirming that the duty in the Gas Safety Regulations. To carry out an annual gas safety check was not a prescribed requirement for serving an s.21 notice.
Even if the check is carried out late, the landlord can still comply with the law regarding. Existing tenants by providing the tenant with a Gas Safety Certificate Cost London. That contains all of the required information. However, the landlord must ensure that the London Property Inspections is offered before the service of the s.21 notice to meet this requirement. Landlords may have had trouble accessing their properties to perform timely inspections during the current pandemic. This decision will come as a relief to those landlords.
