Renting - house not legal!

[Joy5]

Hi

Have been renting for about a month, had to leave marital home as now sold.

Still not got a lease, but have found out from council that the house is not legally rented. Never has been.

There are no certificates for the gas and electric, council want me to try and obtain them from landlord. Who isn't willing to provide them now.

Am very new to renting, and also naïve - believed landlord when he said gas and electric certificates would appear soon!

Struggled to find this house, but don't know what to do now. Should we stay or should I try and find somewhere else. Can't afford a lot which is why the private landlord with lower rent appealed.

Even if your new to renting youshould know that you nrred a tenancy agreement/ contract and proof that you pay rebt. Stabding order at bank or a rent book.
It is illegal not to provide the gas and electric certificates.Tell the council your landlord is refusing to supply these documents and a housing officer should help you.
Worst comes to worst you may have to find another rental property that has all the required certificates.

I'm confused as to how the council would know if this a private ll. He has 28 days to produce a gas safety certificate and details of the deposit scheme. If he hasn't done so speak to Shelter and they can advise how to approach it. Is it rented under an Assured Shorthold Tenancy?

It is illegal not to provide the gas and electric certificates

Gas yes, electricity no.

Also any deposit registered with a deposit scheme, and you should have a tenancy agreement.

I don't know quite what you mean by 'legally rented' - There's a lot of things required of a landlord, but there's no register or licensing scheme (at the moment!)

Where are you? If england, read the how to rent doc on gov.UK. different rules for other countries.

No gas safe cert is illegal and a big fine for the landlord. Report to gas safe.

No legal requirement for written tenancy and electrical cert.

It is cheap because it is dodgy and possibly unsafe.

Yes, its cheap compared to properties to rent through local estate agents.

I'm on a low income, so applied for housing benefit help which is when it came to light I'd still not got a lease. Council asked me questions and said I should have gas/ electric certificates and they had no knowledge the house had ever been rented.

Landlord refusing to get the gas/ electric fixed, still don't know whether or not to involve council in trying to sort this. Am looking at a Christmas with kids and a leaking boiler and gas fire that doesn't work as parts missing.

The council wouldn't know if a property had been previously rented unless the tenant claimed hb or ct benefit or it had been registered as an hmo. There is no legal requirement fir an electricity. Have you spoken to Shelter for advice as to how to approach ll?

you should report to environmental health that you have these problems, this also means you can't be evicted - a mixed blessing.. Actually you can't be evicted anyway without proof that you were given a gas safe cert.

you can also report to the HSE that the landlord is breaking the law re gas safe. Here's the link.

extranet.hse.gov.uk/lfserver/external/lgsr1?_ga=2.57612778.1752725228.1513769117-1305699173.1509884516

you have rented an unsafe dump from a crook, and nothing will change if you ask him to do anything. The gas safe regs alone are there for your protection. If you do nothing else, go out today and buy a carbon monoxide detector and some electric heaters.

A leaking boiler?? A dodgy fire?? Go out and buy yourself some cheap carbon monoxide detectors tomorrow.

And after Christmas, find somewhere else pronto. This sounds awful.

Contact your district council and ask for the private rental officer - they should have one and explain to them that your landlord refuses to give you tenancy or gas certificate

Forget it. Op gone. Hopefully has read the advice and acted on some of it.