Section 21 – multiple tenancy agreements and gas certificates?

The S21 should be valid as you had a Gas Safe Certificate when the tenancy started. Unfortunately, judges don’t always know the law.

Moving back in is a mandatory ground under Section 8. Use an eviction specialist.

Play nice. Let the tenants know informally and apologetically that you need to move back in , it's not their fault and it's not about rent, but they will be recieving formal notice very soon, and you'll give them a good reference etc -- they may well take the hint and not want the process to drag out and be acrimonious. But yes, do check if S21 or S8 works best if you need to go to court -- before serving.

I dont think you can serve a valid 21 notice. The requirement to have a gas cert from the start of the tenancy and then annually thereafter and give copies to the tenant has been in place since 1998. Its only been linked to the s21 process since 2015, but you indicated that you've renewed the tenancy after this date. Unless you can find a copy of the original and most recent GSCs and give copies to the tenant prior to service of the s21, then I dont fancy your chances. Speak to a housing solicitor to be sure. They may also be able to tell you what your chances are of using s8 ground 1.

Slacking on gas certificates? Do you mean you didn’t bother doing them? And landlords wonder why we’re being bashed and tighter regulations!!!

The company you got to do the gas certificate in 2015 should have a copy. If you can’t remember which company your bank statement will tell you. Failing that your tenant might still have their copy.

If your tenants are or were on housing benefit you would have had to forward the first gas certificate applicable to the tenancy to the Local Housing Benefits office.

Surely in this day and age there should be an accessible register of gas safety certificates.
Anyone issuing a certificate is registered as Gas Safe. Some produce the certificate on their laptop and email it to the client, so uploading it to a register wouldn't be difficult.
The old fashioned triplicate paper version are more difficult. Even if a certificate has been safely filed away since the start of a tenancy they are often impossible to read as the ink has faded to nothing.

Your cp12 supplier should have computer copies ask before going further .

There is case law where you can remedy a gap in has safety certificates as long as they had one when the moved in (post 2015). To the best knowledge it does not address renewals. So check the case law and the statute. It's not different to read. Serve s21 and write a witness statement that there are gaps in the gsc's and quote the case law and you should be fine. At the same play nice, explain to your tenant the situation, and offer him some help with his deposit. You probably wouldn't get the court costs back anyway so you won't lose out

Reply to the comment left by Simon F at 23/11/2023 - 10:34
This is good advice and it’s how I have eased out a couple in the past.

You shouldn’t need an eviction specialist if you have a sensible conversation with the tenant before serving any formal notice. I just hope you have been charging or increasing the rent to keep up with market rate otherwise this could cause an issue if there is a massive gap and the tenant cannot afford to move/pass new affordability checks. You can serve S8G1 & S21 notices separately and at the same time that way if your S21 turns out to be invalid you don’t have to wait to serve S8 and/or you can pick which one to proceed with but hopefully it won’t come to that. As said previously offer a cracking reference and if using an agent see if they have something upcoming as if the tenant is goid the agent will want to keep them in thier book also. Good luck

The legislation is
"the date of the check; and (b) a copy of the last record made in respect of each appliance or flue is given to any new tenant of premises to which the record relates before that tenant occupies those premises save that, in respect of a tenant whose right to occupy those premises is for a period not exceeding 28 days, a copy of the record may instead be prominently displayed within those premises.". The phrase that's important here is "BEFORE THAT TENANT OCCUPIES". So yes as long as you had a valid gas safety certificate before serving s21 you are ok