gas safe and rent arrears - eviction

Rent Arrears

gas safe and rent arrears

good afternoon all i wonder if you could give a little advice.

i have a tenant that has been paying reduced rent since April 2020 (he decided this himself) after a long wait i am now looking forward to a section 21 court date to hopefully remove him.

now the court papers have arrived and he has realised that as i have insurance that covers all my costs the insurance company will be chasing him for all the owed rent and all of their fees and court fees etc he has started to kick off and try to avoid paying anything at all

one of the things he is threatening is suing me as the gas safety cert ran out in december 2020 and i have only just had it done yesterday - he was not without heating or hot water at any point and the boiler and central heating was newely installed before he moved in in jan 2020 as was the entire flat (back to brickwork refurbishment)

my plumber tried to gain access twice but it was by phone and he knocked on the door one day also but i cannot prove this in any way shape or form

my question is simple;

as he always had heating and hot water and now has a safety cert, does he have a case to get a rebate on that rent?

many thanks in advance