Landlords will be pleased to hear that not serving a gas safety certificate before a tenant goes into occupation at a property is no longer fatal to their chances of serving a valid section 21 notice to evict the tenant.
The decision of Caridon Property Limited v Shooltz (2 February 2018), had previously held that a Landlord could not serve a valid section 21 notice if a copy of the latest gas safety check report had not been provided to the tenant, before they had taken up occupation.
This created situations where Landlords were finding themselves unable to recover possession of their properties without establishing that the tenant had breached the terms of the tenancy. For example, by not paying rent.
In the recent decision of Trecarrell House Limited v Rouncefield [2020] EWCA Civ 760, this situation has been addressed: it is now the case that any failure to provide the gas safety check report to the tenant will not prevent the valid service of a section 21 notice – so long as the gas safety check report is provided before that notice is served (as opposed to before occupation began.)
If a gas safety check had not been carried out at all before the tenant began occupation, then a landlord will remain in difficulty; or at least, the position is uncertain. The Trecarrell House decision only tells us that late supply of the report can now be remedied and that will be welcome news to landlords.
If you have a Landlord or Tenant query please do not hesitate to contact our Dispute Resolution Team.
Please note that this information is for guidance only and should not be regarded as a substitute for taking full legal advice on specific facts and circumstances.
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