Gas leak, gas co took meter, landlord being confrontational

[David Francis]

We rent a 40 year old house and on Sunday night, we smelled gas inside. We called the gas company and then sent out a guy who found 2 leaks: the stove regulator and an old in wall heating unit that is supposed to be inactive but it's not. The gas guy shut off the gas to the house and took the meter, stating that the landlord would need to get the repair work inspected before they will come back with the meter. We now have no stove/oven or hot water.

I immediately called the landlord and told him about the situation.  English is his second language and it can be very hard to understand him, especially over the phone. He kept saying that we must have turned the knob on the heater unit. I know for a fact that we didn't. When the gas guy turned the knob on for about 2 sec, the gas smell was immediate and overwhelming. No one had been in the bathroom where the heater is for at least 2 hours prior to our smelling the gas.

My wife and I want the repairs done properly and in a timely manner. The landlord has his "guy" come over with him who doesn't seem to be a licensed plumber. It is now day 2, the landlord and his guy are at the house with my wife, who doesn't have faith in their ability to do the work properly (motherly intuition?).

What are the chances that he does a "bandaid" repair job and still gets the inspector to pass it off?

If so, what can we do to have the work re-evaluated? 

[Dawn Anastasi]

@David Francis does your local gas company do free leak testing?