I don't want to let gas man in

[Whyohwhy99]

I don't want to let the gas man in. I have already cancelled twice. Every year I get warning letters.. I don't want to let anyone in. I don't want have any form of interaction. I don't want anyone physically in my house. I don't even know when they are coming. I just know its an afternoon appointment.

Do you rent from a LA? If you do, you can tell them you struggle. I have DDs with SEN and they have a flag on the notes not to try to be chatty with them.

I do understand how hard this is, but it's harder if you don't let them do their job. It won't go away because they will get in serious trouble if they don't do it.

If you don't want to talk, open the door and hand them a piece of paper saying 'boiler in room next to bathroom. Gas meter in cupboard in kitchen.'

Nope. I've been in 4 different rentals in my life (admittedly, only 1 where I was the lead tenant) and never heard of this.

I was until about 3 years ago. So unless this is new, I suppose my landlord wasn't doing their admin.

Yeah, we have carbon monoxide alarms.

Then you somehow managed to find 4 landlords who ignore the law. Which can lead to prosecution.
(depending on when you rented, if all were post 1990s...)
Which is actually concerning.

You wouldn't sound like a prat at all, @Whyohwhy99 , you'd sound like someone who finds it very difficult to have strangers in their home.

And I'm sure it wouldn't be the first time they've had such a request.

Yeah they are not doing it , im a dreaded landlord and we do it yearly .

I can go out i don't like it but I can. I do my best to make sure i don't have to talk to anyone. I bubble myself . Hide in my phone. Hide behinde my kids. Not physically.
I am intending on keeping it. I was very blunt and honest in my message. But I am worried they will say how can I help. That means I would have to explain it to them. Even though I put it in writing and the point was to make it easier bit I don't know if it will be.

The housing association I used to work for once had to go to court for an order to do exactly that, that was in England.

When I had my initial interview with them, one of the questions was about what steps a landlord could take if a tenant repeatedly refused access for a gas safety check.

I understand op I’m the exact same I will keep cancelling appointments until the last minute because I can’t stand to have people in my home especially strangers. It started 6 years ago after I had a nervous breakdown and I was diagnosed with cptsd, anxiety, adhd and bpd. If anyone has to come to the house to do anything I will take myself off in the car until they’ve gone and leave them with someone else. My anxiety will be through the roof in the days leading up to it and by the time it’s over I’m mentally drained and have to spent a couple of days in bed to recover. I can’t even explain what it is that sets me off either.

That's an excellent suggestion @TicklishReader, to focus on how much better it will be when it's over and done with.

Being anxious about something that is in the future is horrible, and the relief after the event is immense.

😅 that did make laugh. Thank you

There was a gas explosion at a house not far from some friends (all of you have probably seen examples of terraced/detached houses next to ones that have blown up, and heard of people being seriously injured and even killed).
So unless you live in the middle of nowhere, with no one around you OP, it is not just you this affects (and even if you do, it will still affect wildlife).
As others have said, get someone to be with you if you're concerned about the specific person coming round. But while it's a free country, the freedom of people to live in safety comes first.

Sorry if it makes you feel anxious, but you will not die from anxiety, but you can die from the repercussions of not allowing gas safety checks to be carried out.

You know this is no way to live, and it looks like it's a life long problem. The issue with anxiety is avoidance makes it worse
You say you have no friends. But it's not always been like this as you mention a DS and you may have other children to? But you've not said .So you've had relationships in the past and brought children up ....what changed?
You need help. Real help. Please reach out to your GP as a first point of contact.

I get it. Years ago I had my housing association send me a court date and associated paperwork to evict me because I kept cancelling gas safety checks. I did let them in, in the end, and luckily they didn’t pursue trying to evict me (which they could have done). I was still responsible for the costs though. I still don’t like it, but I’ve got better at letting people in now.

I hope it all goes smoothly and quickly 💐.

They might have a team that can support you. You’re clearly unwell as, gently, that is not a normal way to live. If you call them they may have female gas engineers or a community team that has a woman to be a chaperone. My organisation would bend over backwards to support people going through something like this but there would come a point where we’d take you to court and evict you. If you’re problematic with access you’ll cause the letters to come earlier and earlier and the level of attempted contact to get higher and higher.

The most painless way is to just be there for the first appointment, let them in and get it over with. Keep putting it off is just prolonging the stress. It’s like you’re making it worse for yourself.

They're mandatory in rented properties in the UK, whether social housing or private. Landlords can be prosecuted if there's no current safety certificate.

It's to prevent explosions and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Yes we refer to social services and safe guarding who will assist with a lot of things.
I am saying as my job, I would ring your GP with you , i would happily do an emergency safe guarding and ensure you had someone with you that day to get you medical help.
Practically , every missed appointment costs money. Every letter costs money. If people are aware then it is easier , in your instance, to work with you to ensure the appointments are kept . If having someone there at 9am meant you would keep the first visit, i myself would ring the contractor ( as a housing officer) and explain and ensure the time was a time and not a slot.
It makes no difference if you have masked for years. They have the proof of the missed visits for a start. You know the visits legally have to happen, so its easier to work with a person than to have no response.
Everyone has to start somewhere, it makes no difference if you have lived there 30years and not said anything. They have a duty of care to you as a tenant/resident but mostly as a person.
Please , if you can , email or ring , whatever is easier for you. I dont know who you are with, I just know what I/we do.

Get a smart meter, God knows Scottish Power have been banging on about this for long enough, pretending that your whole house will stop working if you don"t get one.

I agree with you, there have been posts on this thread that have made me wince, they're so insensitive.

Smart meter does not mean no gas checks! Unless it's sod mart it can inspect gas appliances and connections....

Print it out and hand it over.

Smart meters have fuck all to do with gas safety. Annual gas checks are to make sure appliances are safe. Nothing to do with meter readings ( which everyone without a smart meter does themselves anyway, surely?)

Yep, before I had smart meters, some bloke from British Gas would turn up out the blue to do a meter reading. No notice... he just showed up.
At least with a boiler check etc, you know when it will be.