Frinkz, sorry to hear about your landlord. However there maybe some good news for you, never mind your deposit! As your landlord is being prosecuted for operating an unlicensed hmo, please keep in contact with the council. If he is found guilty of the offence, you can applly to whats called the Residential Property Tribunal to have all the rent you paid back to you by the landlord. Its called a Rent Repayment Order. Depending on the time you lived/rented the property the landlord has to pay you back the money. The council should back you up with the conviction details and the court can give you a reference of the offence. The landlord has to be guilty though. You can only claim back up to a maximum of 12 months, if you still know the other occupants you can all apply together. Its fairly easy to do. I attach a link for the relevant information. http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/156630.pdf

Excellent, after reading this thread I have had my mind eased as to the Central Ticketing '[problem]'. I received my first letter today from Roxburge and have responded asking them to help save the planet, go green and instead of sending out subsequent solicitors letters, just issue the court summons please and I will very much look forward seeing you there!

No Tom, the Welsh regs are the same as England, link below The Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Wales) Regulations 2006

Good so it is a HMO. so management regulations apply. I shall assist then Steve, regardless if it was a licensable HMO or not, the property Tom's friend shares would most probably fall into the category of a section 254 HMO pursuant to the Housing Act 2004. Therefore and as it is a sec254 HMO the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006 (SI372) apply. These are specific duties that the person managing (usually the landlord) has to adhere to. The local authority do not have to issue any type of notice, basically there isn't one! All they have to do if they so wish is to write a letter and highlight the 'disrepair' and set a reasonably timescale for the repairs to be completed, if they so wish. Failure by the person managing upon a summary conviction is liable to maximum fine of upto level 5 on the Magistrates Courts Rules, i.e £5000 per offence. Back to the original point, The above regulations (regulation 6, duty of the manager to supply and maintain gas and electricity) require the person managing must:- (a) ensure that every fixed electrical installation is inspected and tested at intervals not exceeding five years by a person qualified to undertake such inspection and testing; (b) obtain a certificate from the person conducting that test, specifying the results of the test; and © supply that certificate to the local housing authority within 7 days of receiving a request in writing for it from that authority. It is also a statutory requirement to have the fixed electric installation tested and inspected for section 257 HMO of the above act. Following the introduction of last years regulations. Hope that assists

I take it that the 4 firends are not related and therefore are 4 seperate households living together. If this is the case get them to contact the local authority, what the landlord is renting appears to be a HMO (house in multiple occupation) and if this is the case it is has always been a legal requirement to have the gas installation, gas safety checked and ongoing maintenance. These are two seperate issues and the majority of landlord I see only think their legal requirement is to have a landlords gas safety check. With regards to the electrics if it is a HMO (which it appears to be) it is now a statutory requirement to have the fixed electrical installation, tested and inspected at intervals not greater than 5 years.

What type of property do you live in Choppy? single occ., flat, HMO, etc

You don't have to prove the tenant got it, you have to prove to the courts that it was served. As Mr shed says take it to the post office and obtain proof of postage, you can go one step further and go to a different post office and do the same in sending the notice, obtain proof of postage on the same day. There is plenty of case law about serving a notice, once its posted it is deemed served, regardless if the tenant claims they didn't get it.

Indeed Mr Shed Kinzy apart from this legislation The Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006, item 6(3). Can you point out any other that is relevant, apart from owing a tenant a duty of care for the electrics Regards

Thats a first EHO's only looking after council property. Ring them back and tell them they have a duty under Part 1 (Housing Conditions) of the Housing Act 2004 to inspect housing conditions in their area and identify any hazards that exist, it applies to any residential premises to which the act applies. Don't be fobbed off

Hi my name is Jessop, well my surname is hence the login name. I deal specifically with landlord and tenant issues and in particular HMO's (Houses in Multiple Occupation) and the new Housing Act 2004 and many of its chapters. I have spent the last 10 years working with both landlords and tenants on varying problems and issues. When I am not at work my family keeps me busy, along with the dog, 4 cats and 4 horses. I look forward to reading and posting when I have something to say. Regards Jessop

Its 3 or more Mr Shed, any property that has 2 persons in two seperate households is not a HMO. Schedule 14(7) HA 2004. Thats why I made reference to this The only mandatory requirement for an electrical certificate is for a HMO (house in multiple occupation) other than a converted block of flats, i.e all self contained units in a building. ITMC it depends on the building you are living in, not necessarily on your flat alone. If its all self contained flats in the building and has building regulations approval post 1991, its not a HMO. If its a purpose built block of flats its not a HMO. If its all self contained flats without building control approval it could be a HMO. As Mr Shed says a HMO doesn't have to be all self contained flats, could be a shared house, bedsits, a flat in multiple occupation, a mixture of self contained flats and bedsits, etc. The new definitions of HMOs are now very extensive compared to the old Housing Act. But back to your original question you should contact your council and explain the situation. Your landlord has a duty of care to you as a tenant, how he goes about this duty is open to interpretation.

Certainly speak to your local authority and explain the situation and concerns about the electrics. The options open to the council. One would be to risk assess the hazard using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System and issue a notice if required. If its a converted building and a HMO they could use the management regulations and again issue notice. The only mandatory requirement for an electrical certificate is for a HMO (house in multiple occupation) other than a converted block of flats, i.e all self contained units in a building. Hope that helps