The Court of Appeal has listed the hearing of Trecarrell House Limited v Rouncefield at the end of January 2020.
Readers of the blog will note our previous post on this case.
In summary, a tenant defended a section 21 possession case on the basis that the landlord had not provided the gas safety certificate prior to her taking occupation of the property. There was no gas in the specific flat, although there was in the building. Additionally, a gas safety certificate was in place at all times. However, the certificate had not been provided to the tenant and the lower courts both held that provision after the start of the tenancy was not sufficient to cure the breach.
The case is important for landlords because as things stand an administrative breach will prevent landlords from obtaining possession of their properties. It goes without saying that tenants should be given safe properties and legislation certainly exists to ensure that this occurs. However, landlords should not have to face draconian penalties such as an inability to recover possession over the failure to provide a piece of paper when safety is not called into question.
Published 30 August 2019
