This is a question to the blog clinic from Jade, who is a tenant in England.
Problem with the landlord not paying security bond into schemes, not carrying out the gas check, other issues
Answer
Failure to protect the deposit
If your landlord has not protected your deposit in a scheme, then:
- He will not be able to serve a valid section 21 notice, and
- You can bring a court claim for a penalty of up to 3x the deposit sum.
Although, you may want to check first with the three schemes – who all provide this service.
The court procedures for bringing the penalty claim are not the normal type of procedure but what are known as the ‘Part 8 Alternative procedure for claims’. So difficult for you to bring on your own.
However, there are some firms offering a no-win no fee service, which you may be able to find via an online search.
Your right to the penalty will also be available to you as a defence if your landlord tries to evict you based on rent arrears.
Failure to do the gas safety inspection
So far as the failure to do the gas safety check is concerned, if your landlord did not have a current gas safety certificate at the time you moved into the property, then he may be unable to use section 21 at all, ever.
Which may be a comfort if you want to remain in this property.
The gas safety regulations are enforced by the Health and Safety Executive, who are authorised to prosecute, but they tend to be a bit lax on enforcement.
Their website has some FAQs for tenants here. They include draft letters you can use to send to your landlord and a form you can use to submit a complaint.
Other issues
As regards ‘other issues’, we can’t comment here if we don’t know what they are!
If you want further advice, check out my Renters Guide website and our page with links to places where you can get help (sometimes for free).