A couple of quick notes.
Robert Jones (Trading as DAP Properties & Ors v Oliver Wood. County Court at Brentford. 20 February 2025.
My grateful thanks to Peter Sibley of Landmark Chambers for a note of this case. This was a possession claim based on a section 21 notice. By the time of trial the only two issues were a) whether the initial gas safety certificate had been provided at the start of the tenancy, and b) whether intermediate gas safety certificates had been provided. The tenant accepted that the most recent GSC had been provided before service of the section 21.
While the landlords could not provide a copy of the initial GSC, the Deputy District Judge accepted their evidence as to their usual practice and procedures, and an invoice for the gas safety inspection at the relevant time, and found that the initial GSC had been given to the tenant.
On the intermediate GSCs, this was raided by the tenant as an issue, but no legal argument or authority for this was advanced by the tenant (acting in person). The Deputy District Judge proceeded on the basis that that regulation 36(6) requires provision of the GSC in existence when the tenant moved in and one prior to the s.21 notice.
As the section 21 requirements were satisfied on this basis, the possession order was made.
Comment
This is a live issue, with possible arguments either way. This is, of course a first instance County Court decision, and so not a precedent, but shows that the County Court is open to this line of argument. The policy argument is that the tenant should be provided with all the GSCs to show safety, and the AST prescribed information regulations should be construed in that light. The technical argument is that while the initial GSC is required (because the position cannot be recovered by a later GSC), and the most recent one is required by the AST prescribed information regulations for service of a section 21 notice, there is no clear requirement for all intervening GSCs to be provided for service of a section 21 (though of course the Gas Safety Regs do require that).
We saw Blagg v Gharbi go the other way on intervening GSCs here. Again, first instance County Court.
However, it may well shortly be an historical relic. There can’t be time for that many more s.21/GSC judgments before the Renters’ Rights Bill commences and the whole issue becomes redundant (at least for possession claims.)
As the Deputy District Judge apparently said, with surely a hint of a sigh
The law in relation to GSCs is not straightforward. There has been a difficulty in the way that the interpretation of the prescribed requirements order interacts with the words of the GSC regulations.
Finding a way through the brambles
Fitting following on from that sigh, we all have to admit that both the law and the practicalities of who is responsible for doing what in relation to complaints about or issues within tenancies (both social and private) is a bit of a quagmire. I know that I used to spend quite a lot of time on twitter (as was) and still now on Bluesky just pointing people to the appropriate agency/body to contact about their specific tenancy issue.
So, I was intrigued to see this site, the My Housing Issue Gateway, developed by the TDS Charitable Foundation. It aims to be a diagnostic and signposting tool for private and social tenants (also providing form letters in many instances) covering such issues as rent arrears, harassment, ASB, tenancy deposits, eviction, tenant fees and more.
As well as the clear explanations of rights and obligations, the site very helpfully sets out which of the myriad of agencies, ombudsmen, local authorities and more the different issues can be taken to. With action plans. This is valuable.
I’ve not been through it all – there is a lot – but what I have seen looks really rather good.
As a housing litigator, I naturally bridle slightly at the apparent suggestion in some flowcharts that potential proceedings should looked at only be after everything else has been tried, But for most tenants, certainly private tenants, I’d acknowledge that a route to a hopefully prompt resolution that they can do themselves is a good option.
Of course, the route is only as good as the response from the agency/ombudsman/local authority to whom the issue is taken. But this looks like a helpful and clear guide for tenants. It has to be worth circulating.
I had a possession case dismissed because whilst the landlord did indeed have an initial GSC and a current GSC, the judge said he was not satisfied that he had given a copy of the initial GSC to the tenant. The sooner this madness is over the better, leaving us to get on with all the new madness.
On the TDS toolkit; I agree a good development but I notice that for harassment and illegal eviction problems it refers the user to advice pages on Shelter website. Not a shortcoming in the tool but an indicator that nobody has a bleeding clue who deals with that stuff in any given local authority, often even within the authority itself.