Trecarrell House Ltd v Rouncefield [2020]

Case date: 18 Jun 2020
Court: Court of Appeal

These proceedings were possession proceedings under section 21 in respect of a self-contained flat where the heating was provided by a boiler situated outside the flat. No gas safety certificate was served on or displayed in the property before the tenants moved in.

In essence, this case is about the situation covered in s.36(7) of the Gas Regulations. This comes into effect where there are no actual gas appliances in the property being let but where there is gas in the building.

Initially, the Judge found for the tenant following the earlier case of Caridon Property Ltd v Monty Shooltz. The landlord appealed against the decision to the Court of Appeal who found for the landlord in a 2 to 1 judgement.

So now failure to serve a gas safety certificate on tenants before they move in will not normally be fatal to a section 21 claim – so long as a gas safety certificate had been obtained. However, the case raises a lot of questions (see the video and the articles linked below) so landlords are advised to serve the certificate on tenants before they move in if they can.

Supreme Court Rejection

The tenant applied to appeal the case to the Supreme Court.  However, after reading written representations from the parties in 2022, the Supreme Court decided not to allow the appeal on the grounds that it did not raise a point of general public importance.

So the Court of Appeal decision stands.

Landlord Law Legal Cases Video

See below a recording of Justin Bates’s webinar discussing this case not long after the Court of Appeal decision.  Justin acted for the landlord.

Further reading

Read the Nearly Legal report
Read the Landlord Law Blog Report
Read the Bailii Report