Serving prescribed documents at the start of tenancies
Since 1st October 2015, at the start of a new tenancy landlords have been obliged to provide a tenant with certain documents:
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A valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC);
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An annual Gas Safety Certificate;
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A copy of the Government publication: 'How to rent' Guide (latest version January 2018)
Landlords should supply these documents at the start of each new tenancy. If these documents have not been supplied, the landlord cannot serve a section 21 'notice requiring possession'.
Previous guidance indicated that as soon as the landlord supplies these documents this restriction will be removed. However, the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) are now reminding landlords to serve the documents at the start of the tenancy as a recent case, heard at Central London county court, the District Judge rejected a possession claim on the basis that at the time the Section 21 notice was served on the tenant, the landlord had failed to provide them with a copy of a valid gas certificate before the tenant had moved into the property. Despite the landlord having provided the tenant with a copy of the new gas safety certificate, following an annual gas safety inspection 11 months later, this made no difference and the Judge still rejected the Section 21 claim.
What this means
Up until now, if a landlord wanted to gain possession of a property through using a Section 21 route to possession, and they had not served their tenants with a copy of a valid gas safety certificate, it was assumed they would have been able to rectify this for example by giving the tenants a copy of the gas safety certificate at a later date.
This case highlights that it is absolutely essential for landlords in England to serve tenants a valid gas safety certificate at the start of a tenancy, together with other prescribed documents, if the tenancy began on or after the 1st October 2015 (when the Deregulation Act provisions came into force).
Just as it is critical that all private landlords ensure that all gas equipment in the accommodation that they rent out has a valid gas safety certificate (which lasts for twelve months) it is now equally essential for landlords to share a copy of the gas safety certificate with tenants at the start or renewal of a tenancy.
The ruling could still be appealed
While this ruling could still be appealed, and it is not generally binding, it is likely that this case will have a persuasive effect on future possession cases.
