Slugbabydotcom said:What hits me about Tonys case is the fact that the guy doing an LGSC does not have to inspect a fire that does not belong to the landlord. So how can the landlord be responsible for a flue where he is not obliged to have the fire at the bottom of it tested?
Thats quite easy to explain, ( I think! )
The fire belongs to the tenant so the landlord has no responsibility for it or for testing it.
The landlord's flue however is another matter! There are lots of Acts covering Landlord and Tenant matters and then there is "Common Law" which can be used for anything which is not more specifically covered by L&T legislation. Its NOT normally possible to Contract out of Government legislation whether Chris agrees or not!
You cannot normally exclude the basic requirements of renting property by just saying that flues are unusable. They would have to be bricked up and rendered non available. Anything like stairs, flues or windows are legally "present" if they are there and accessible. In that case the landlord has a Common Law obligation to ensure that they are safe and kept operating and in good order.
To enable the Landlord to know that his property is safe then a conscientious RGI would test the landlords flue if the tenant is using them. There is NO legal requirement for the flues to be tested BUT if they were unsafe then the Landlord would be liable!
I would say that a landlord would be entitled to sue an RGI who did not test his flues and advise him of his legal obligation to ensure they are safe. The RGI is the expert on gas safety NOT the Landlord.
Tony