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samantha4321
Posts: 2 Newbie
Hi apologies if this is in the wrong place.
I've been having a few issues with my private landlord.
I informed them beginning of last week that my boiler was leaking and I was constantly having to put more pressure into on the daily. Landlady's husband came out on Tuesday last week to confirm what I already knew it needed fixed! We were under the impression the boiler had just been serviced (told it was serviced every October). Landlady informed us that she couldn't get a heating engineer till the Friday and advised we used the boiler as little as possible. Just what you want at this time of year! Friday afternoon comes and we were informed that the boiler couldn't be fixed and that it required a part to be delivered (allowed landlady's husband to attend with engineer as we were both at work). Firstly we were told we couldn't use the boiler at all then we were told we could but could only set it to 18.5 degrees. My friend managed to text the landlady to ask what she was going to suggest as we'd be without heating and hot water until the part was delivered. She then said she was coming over to the house to deliver some electric heaters. The boiler was now completely not working after the heating engineer had been out with the landlady's husband (we had no knowledge that it wasn't working at all). The landlady looked at the boiler and said she wasn't sure why it wasn't working and said the heaters were there to heat the house. The house we are renting is an old fashioned Victorian town house (tall ceilings and poor insulation). We then asked about being reimbursed as the heaters use a lot of electricity, to which the landlady took meter readings and said she would work out how much we'd used and reimburse us afterwards. We were left in freezing conditions all weekend (three heaters were useless in such cold weather). Temperatures in the house dropped to 10.5 degrees over the weekend. Today we've been told that the part has been delivered but it doesn't mean that it will be fixed today. Landlady has no boiler cover so coming out her own pocket to pay for engineer to which she has complained as it's so close to Christmas.
Just wondering what my rights are and what can I do about this!?
Thanks in advance! (hope this makes sense!)
I've been having a few issues with my private landlord.
I informed them beginning of last week that my boiler was leaking and I was constantly having to put more pressure into on the daily. Landlady's husband came out on Tuesday last week to confirm what I already knew it needed fixed! We were under the impression the boiler had just been serviced (told it was serviced every October). Landlady informed us that she couldn't get a heating engineer till the Friday and advised we used the boiler as little as possible. Just what you want at this time of year! Friday afternoon comes and we were informed that the boiler couldn't be fixed and that it required a part to be delivered (allowed landlady's husband to attend with engineer as we were both at work). Firstly we were told we couldn't use the boiler at all then we were told we could but could only set it to 18.5 degrees. My friend managed to text the landlady to ask what she was going to suggest as we'd be without heating and hot water until the part was delivered. She then said she was coming over to the house to deliver some electric heaters. The boiler was now completely not working after the heating engineer had been out with the landlady's husband (we had no knowledge that it wasn't working at all). The landlady looked at the boiler and said she wasn't sure why it wasn't working and said the heaters were there to heat the house. The house we are renting is an old fashioned Victorian town house (tall ceilings and poor insulation). We then asked about being reimbursed as the heaters use a lot of electricity, to which the landlady took meter readings and said she would work out how much we'd used and reimburse us afterwards. We were left in freezing conditions all weekend (three heaters were useless in such cold weather). Temperatures in the house dropped to 10.5 degrees over the weekend. Today we've been told that the part has been delivered but it doesn't mean that it will be fixed today. Landlady has no boiler cover so coming out her own pocket to pay for engineer to which she has complained as it's so close to Christmas.
Just wondering what my rights are and what can I do about this!?
Thanks in advance! (hope this makes sense!)
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Comments
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Your rights are that the boiler should be fixed in a reasonable timescale.
This appears to be what's happening.0 -
The situation is that boiler engineers are very busy at this time of year. Your landlady cannot fix the boiler any faster than she can get an engineer to do it.
If you owned the house and it was your boiler it is unlikely that you would have been able to get a gas engineer out with a new part any quicker.0 -
Personally I don't think you can do much more.
The boiler is being fixed as quick as possible - there does not seem to be any delay on the landlady's part - she has furnished you with heaters and has said she will reimburse you for the extra electricity.
I know it has been cold but we have been without heating etc for 4 days (and over Christmas!) due to no electricity and we managed.
I'm not sure what you are wanting from the landlord.
One thing I would say is to write a letter/email (keep a copy) saying 'thank you' for dealing with the boiler problem so promptly and providing heaters. Then (and this is the important part) also thank her for reimbursing the extra electricity costs as well. (you could ask when this will be done - should you provide a copy of the bill/whatever?) Then you have it in writing what she actually agreed to.
Compared to some of the nightmare stories we read on here your landlord sounds completely reasonable!0 -
I understand that, however I was under the impression that a complete boiler breakdown leaving you without heating and hot water was supposed to be repaired within 24hrs.... We were told the boiler was serviced every October and that everything was fine no issues. However on Friday upon speaking with the Landlady we were told it was just a gas safety check. Which makes me wonder that not only has the boiler not been serviced this year but that had it been serviced this could have been avoidable?0
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A boiler service doesn't mean it won't breakdown.
It is like a MOT. Valid on the day and a legal requirement. You could have had it serviced and it may still fail the very next day.
Your landlady sounds very reasonable and appears to have responded very quickly. If parts needed to be ordered how do you propose it be fixed within 24 hours?
Also you haven't been left without heating or hot water. You have temporary heaters and I presume a kettle to heat water with.
EDIT : Your Landlord also has a duty to provide you with a copy of the service paperwork within 28 days of it being serviced or when you move in so you can see whether it has been done or not0 -
Even if it had been serviced it could still break down a month later, parts can fail without any prior warning.0
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Simply not true.samantha4321 wrote: »I was under the impression that a complete boiler breakdown leaving you without heating and hot water was supposed to be repaired within 24hrs....
Possibly, but irrelevant to your situation. The only legal requirement is for a gas safety check every year.Which makes me wonder that not only has the boiler not been serviced this year but that had it been serviced this could have been avoidable?0 -
But that's just not possible! It sounds like your landlady is being as proactive about getting this sorted as she can be, but if a part needed ordering then there's nothing that can be done to make that happen any faster.samantha4321 wrote: »was under the impression that a complete boiler breakdown leaving you without heating and hot water was supposed to be repaired within 24hrs0 -
What world do you live in? Do you really think that everyone who owns their house get their boiler repaired within 24h? Do you think that no home owner ever had to deal with being cold, having to use only one room, getting heat from electric heaters and hot water bottle.I was under the impression that a complete boiler breakdown leaving you without heating and hot water was supposed to be repaired within 24hrs....
Why is it that some tenants seem to believe that they should get luxury service just because they're tenants? Your LL is dealing with the issue and doing all they can do, as they should, so be grateful.0 -
Even with two gas engineers in the family I wouldn't get a repair in 24 hours.
Cloud cuckoo!0
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