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New here - Looking for advice on UK tenant rights?
Hi Everyone!
Thanks in advance to those who read and share advice here
So here's the situation:
I'm a single working professional in the UK, two months ago I moved into a new flat, and from what I understand the building used to be one very large bungalow and was recently purchased and renovated into two 2-bedroom flats. I rent one, and there's a couple next door renting the other one.
Today I got home from work to find a letter from SSE to serve 7 days notice before they cut off my electricity supply due to an investigation that suggested that the supply was installed illegally.
I called the contact number on the letter and a member of their Revenue Protection team explained to me that months ago someone contacted them to request a quote for adding a second electricity supply at this property, but the quote was never followed up on, no installation was carried out, and nobody at their end thought that there was a second supply at this address. They confirmed that the quote was requested by the Letting Agent, and told me I was fortunate to even get 7 days notice, as my neighbor's supply was already cut off. But they couldn't give me any more information on their investigation due to Data Protection law.
I then called the Letting Agent, they seemed very surprised, asked me to send them a picture of the letter and forward them any other correspondence from SSE, and they will investigate the matter very seriously.
My neighbors then got home and found that not only did they have no power, but the engineer literally removed their meter from their electrical box with absolutely no notice. (after charging their phones at my place and checking their email they found an email notifying them that an engineer would be 'checking' their box with less than 24hrs notice).
After they made enough of a fuss with SSE they were told that there is an ongoing investigation building towards formal legal action against the landlord and that the Police are also involved. But that right now they can't do anything to restore power and they will need to consult a specialist team for advice on what happens to the tenant's power supply in the interim.
From reading between the lines I am presuming that this is a matter of electrical safety rather than billings. We both pay our bills, but I guess if the second power supply was installed under the radar, nobody can vouch for the correctness or safety of the circuits and the utility provider doesn't want to be liable for any resulting problems?
My main concerns/questions here are:
1] Will I still lose power after 7 days if a resolution is not reached with the Landlord by then?
2] What kind of legal protection is there for my neighbors and I in this situation? I presume that any fault or crime in this situation lies with the landlord and/or whoever ordered the unregistered installation?
3] Are either one of us likely to be asked to vacate the property? Or is there an outcome possible here where the landlord had some completely legal contractor do the work, he provides SSE with an electrical safety certificate of some kind, they restore power and everything goes back to normal?
Thanks for your advice!
Thanks in advance to those who read and share advice here
So here's the situation:
I'm a single working professional in the UK, two months ago I moved into a new flat, and from what I understand the building used to be one very large bungalow and was recently purchased and renovated into two 2-bedroom flats. I rent one, and there's a couple next door renting the other one.
Today I got home from work to find a letter from SSE to serve 7 days notice before they cut off my electricity supply due to an investigation that suggested that the supply was installed illegally.
I called the contact number on the letter and a member of their Revenue Protection team explained to me that months ago someone contacted them to request a quote for adding a second electricity supply at this property, but the quote was never followed up on, no installation was carried out, and nobody at their end thought that there was a second supply at this address. They confirmed that the quote was requested by the Letting Agent, and told me I was fortunate to even get 7 days notice, as my neighbor's supply was already cut off. But they couldn't give me any more information on their investigation due to Data Protection law.
I then called the Letting Agent, they seemed very surprised, asked me to send them a picture of the letter and forward them any other correspondence from SSE, and they will investigate the matter very seriously.
My neighbors then got home and found that not only did they have no power, but the engineer literally removed their meter from their electrical box with absolutely no notice. (after charging their phones at my place and checking their email they found an email notifying them that an engineer would be 'checking' their box with less than 24hrs notice).
After they made enough of a fuss with SSE they were told that there is an ongoing investigation building towards formal legal action against the landlord and that the Police are also involved. But that right now they can't do anything to restore power and they will need to consult a specialist team for advice on what happens to the tenant's power supply in the interim.
From reading between the lines I am presuming that this is a matter of electrical safety rather than billings. We both pay our bills, but I guess if the second power supply was installed under the radar, nobody can vouch for the correctness or safety of the circuits and the utility provider doesn't want to be liable for any resulting problems?
My main concerns/questions here are:
1] Will I still lose power after 7 days if a resolution is not reached with the Landlord by then?
2] What kind of legal protection is there for my neighbors and I in this situation? I presume that any fault or crime in this situation lies with the landlord and/or whoever ordered the unregistered installation?
3] Are either one of us likely to be asked to vacate the property? Or is there an outcome possible here where the landlord had some completely legal contractor do the work, he provides SSE with an electrical safety certificate of some kind, they restore power and everything goes back to normal?
Thanks for your advice!
