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Urgent Safety concerns in rental property
The_Ejaculator
Posts: 54
Forumite
Hi
I don't know if anybody may be able to help me out with a bit of advice here...
I'm currently renting a house with my wife and 3 year old daughter. So far within the last week I have discovered a carbon monoxide leak on our gas boiler and today found out that the electrics are shot.
I was working away last week, came back friday and my wife and daughter had been feeling ill for most of the week. It was only by chance that I looked at the carbon monoxide detector next to the boiler and it had changed colour slightly. I took it outside to give it some fresh air to see if it changed back and it did. I took my wife and daughter to A&E, my wife was diagnosed with having higher than average carbon monoxide in her bloodstream but decided against testing my daughter as the test they do is not nice and my wifes levels were not at the danger point yet.
After a weekend of haggling with the landlord, they have now got somebody out to look at the boiler (Not the landlords first choice, I had to get somebody else out and pay them myself). Initially they refused to even look at it as it was illegally fitted (Not enough room to open it safely). Upon inspecting it he condemmed it as it was literally falling apart. This same boiler apparantly passed a safety check with my landlords "Regular" company about 3 months ago.
So, for the last couple of days I have had electric heaters plugged in around the house (Which I had to go out and buy). Today, one of these has actually burned itself into the electric plug socket. This did not trip any circuit breaker (We have an old fuse board) and the only reason it turned off is because it blew the fuse in the extension cable attached. The guys that are now working on the boiler examined it closer and said that the house is running on "Two wires" whatever that means (I'm not at home today, the wife is) and that the whole place is a fire waiting to happen.
This isn't the first electrical fault to happen. A couple of months ago exactly the same thing happened to the plug which the washing machine was plugged into. At the same sort of time the electric hob blew, although going bang and smoking, this still didn't trip the electrics. When the "Usual" guy that my landlord uses eventually came around to replace the hob (Two weeks later) I showed him the plug and he said that we had overloaded it and that it was all our fault??!
So, the way that I look at it is that the house is unsafe, especially when i have a 3 year old running around. She suffers badly from asthma and chest infections and needs a warm atmosphere in which to sleep, however I am obviously concerned about using a heater in case it sets on fire!
As far as I am concerned this is two potential fatal incidents in the space of a few days and my wife no longer feels safe in the property. In fact she is livid that our daughter has been put at risk.
How do we stand here? what can we do? we cannot afford a deposit and a month up front on a new property which would need to be paid on a new place before we moved out. I don't want my daughter to have to live in a building site due to her problem chest. Does anybody know where I stand here? I've thought about taking legal advice about the boiler but don't want to jeapordise the roof over my families head as we have nowhere else to go.
Does anybody have any recomendations? Help!
I don't know if anybody may be able to help me out with a bit of advice here...
I'm currently renting a house with my wife and 3 year old daughter. So far within the last week I have discovered a carbon monoxide leak on our gas boiler and today found out that the electrics are shot.
I was working away last week, came back friday and my wife and daughter had been feeling ill for most of the week. It was only by chance that I looked at the carbon monoxide detector next to the boiler and it had changed colour slightly. I took it outside to give it some fresh air to see if it changed back and it did. I took my wife and daughter to A&E, my wife was diagnosed with having higher than average carbon monoxide in her bloodstream but decided against testing my daughter as the test they do is not nice and my wifes levels were not at the danger point yet.
After a weekend of haggling with the landlord, they have now got somebody out to look at the boiler (Not the landlords first choice, I had to get somebody else out and pay them myself). Initially they refused to even look at it as it was illegally fitted (Not enough room to open it safely). Upon inspecting it he condemmed it as it was literally falling apart. This same boiler apparantly passed a safety check with my landlords "Regular" company about 3 months ago.
So, for the last couple of days I have had electric heaters plugged in around the house (Which I had to go out and buy). Today, one of these has actually burned itself into the electric plug socket. This did not trip any circuit breaker (We have an old fuse board) and the only reason it turned off is because it blew the fuse in the extension cable attached. The guys that are now working on the boiler examined it closer and said that the house is running on "Two wires" whatever that means (I'm not at home today, the wife is) and that the whole place is a fire waiting to happen.
This isn't the first electrical fault to happen. A couple of months ago exactly the same thing happened to the plug which the washing machine was plugged into. At the same sort of time the electric hob blew, although going bang and smoking, this still didn't trip the electrics. When the "Usual" guy that my landlord uses eventually came around to replace the hob (Two weeks later) I showed him the plug and he said that we had overloaded it and that it was all our fault??!
So, the way that I look at it is that the house is unsafe, especially when i have a 3 year old running around. She suffers badly from asthma and chest infections and needs a warm atmosphere in which to sleep, however I am obviously concerned about using a heater in case it sets on fire!
As far as I am concerned this is two potential fatal incidents in the space of a few days and my wife no longer feels safe in the property. In fact she is livid that our daughter has been put at risk.
How do we stand here? what can we do? we cannot afford a deposit and a month up front on a new property which would need to be paid on a new place before we moved out. I don't want my daughter to have to live in a building site due to her problem chest. Does anybody know where I stand here? I've thought about taking legal advice about the boiler but don't want to jeapordise the roof over my families head as we have nowhere else to go.
Does anybody have any recomendations? Help!
In urgent need of a large lottery win...
0
Comments
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Phone the private tenancy people at the council, phone shelter, phone environmental health. You will get further advice on here. Is your deposit protected, are you letting through an letting Agent or direct with the LanldordLoretta0
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Take pictures of everything, the plugs, boiler and make a note of everything said about the boiler, the name of the person who said it and claimed it was unfit! Also you have the assessment from the hospital concerning your wife........and take this LL to the cleaners!! As already said, contact the council, environmental and a solicitor. I detest LL's who think they can rent out a property in this state and put people at risk of dying.
"Life is difficult. Life is a series of problems. What makes life difficult is that the process of confronting and solving problems is a painful one." M Scott Peck. The Road Less Travelled.0 -
Phone the private tenancy people at the council, phone shelter, phone environmental health. You will get further advice on here. Is your deposit protected, are you letting through an letting Agent or direct with the Lanldord
Everything is direct with the landlord unfortunately. I went down this route to try and save on their fees as the landlord seemed OK! The deposit is supposed to be in a high interest account and will be kept for I think 28 days after we have left to cover any damages etc... I will however try your suggestions! Thanks!In urgent need of a large lottery win...0 -
Why are you not using the LLs choice of engineer?
Anyway, have you contacted the LL again regarding what this engineer is saying?"Now to trolling as a concept. .... Personally, I've always found it a little sad that people choose to spend such a large proportion of their lives in this way but they do, and we have to deal with it." - MSE Forum Manager 6th July 20100 -
The_Ejaculator wrote: »Everything is direct with the landlord unfortunately. I went down this route to try and save on their fees as the landlord seemed OK! The deposit is supposed to be in a high interest account and will be kept for I think 28 days after we have left to cover any damages etc... I will however try your suggestions! Thanks!
The deposit may well be in a high interest account, but it should still be protected by an approved scheme if it was paid after 05 April 2007, you are in England or Wales and you have an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement."Now to trolling as a concept. .... Personally, I've always found it a little sad that people choose to spend such a large proportion of their lives in this way but they do, and we have to deal with it." - MSE Forum Manager 6th July 20100 -
Btw, do you or your wife smoke?"Now to trolling as a concept. .... Personally, I've always found it a little sad that people choose to spend such a large proportion of their lives in this way but they do, and we have to deal with it." - MSE Forum Manager 6th July 20100
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Why are you not using the LLs choice of engineer?
Anyway, have you contacted the LL again regarding what this engineer is saying?
The landlords engineer of choice couldn't even have the decency to return my calls and messages so I got somebody out at my own expense. They could do the boiler work pretty much straight away so the LL agreed to them carrying out the work (Landlord currently on a beach in Florida and very reluctant to answer their phone - usually takes several calls/texts to get a response). This is the situation with regards to the electrics, they have not replied to my messages or the gas engineers who has called them to say that it is dangerous.In urgent need of a large lottery win...0 -
The_Ejaculator wrote: »Hi
I don't know if anybody may be able to help me out with a bit of advice here...
I'm currently renting a house with my wife and 3 year old daughter. So far within the last week I have discovered a carbon monoxide leak on our gas boiler and today found out that the electrics are shot.
I was working away last week, came back friday and my wife and daughter had been feeling ill for most of the week. It was only by chance that I looked at the carbon monoxide detector next to the boiler and it had changed colour slightly.
I would get a carbon monoxide alarm. I bought one, much more accurate/better piece of mind.After a weekend of haggling with the landlord, they have now got somebody out to look at the boiler (Not the landlords first choice, I had to get somebody else out and pay them myself). Initially they refused to even look at it as it was illegally fitted (Not enough room to open it safely). Upon inspecting it he condemmed it as it was literally falling apart. This same boiler apparantly passed a safety check with my landlords "Regular" company about 3 months ago.
Do you have a copy of the Gas Safety Certificate? Or did they just perform their own 'safety check' without the legal Certificate?
Gas safety is heavily regulated, a brief guide is here
http://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/domestic/faqtenant.htmSo, for the last couple of days I have had electric heaters plugged in around the house (Which I had to go out and buy).
You should not have had to do this - info is in the link above
If a heating appliance has been disconnected then your landlord must provide you with emergency heating, for more information on this contact your local authority whilst arranging for appropriate remedial work by a CORGI registered installer.Today, one of these has actually burned itself into the electric plug socket. This did not trip any circuit breaker (We have an old fuse board) and the only reason it turned off is because it blew the fuse in the extension cable attached. The guys that are now working on the boiler examined it closer and said that the house is running on "Two wires" whatever that means (I'm not at home today, the wife is) and that the whole place is a fire waiting to happen.
If the sockets do not comply with BS1363, the landlord is in breach of the law (The Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BS_1363
Otherwise, not sure,I would ask the HSE for advice.I showed him the plug and he said that we had overloaded it and that it was all our fault??!
Were you using an extension or adapter? A single 13 amp fuse should not overload the house.So, the way that I look at it is that the house is unsafe, especially when i have a 3 year old running around. She suffers badly from asthma and chest infections and needs a warm atmosphere in which to sleep, however I am obviously concerned about using a heater in case it sets on fire!
As far as I am concerned this is two potential fatal incidents in the space of a few days and my wife no longer feels safe in the property. In fact she is livid that our daughter has been put at risk.
How do we stand here? what can we do? we cannot afford a deposit and a month up front on a new property which would need to be paid on a new place before we moved out. I don't want my daughter to have to live in a building site due to her problem chest. Does anybody know where I stand here?
In note a good situation. You are very much reliant on your landlord not being scum, but it seems he is. Get all the legal advice you can from HSE and council and pass it on to him to ensure he complies with his responsibilities. I would suggest that you advise the landlord that you will not pay the rent until he makes the house safe.I've thought about taking legal advice about the boiler but don't want to jeapordise the roof over my families head as we have nowhere else to go.
Does anybody have any recomendations? Help!
First recommendation would be to get landlord to get everything fixed and stay where you are. What is he proposing to do with the boiler? It is below freezing at nights, he should fix the boiler within 24 hours in these situations, subject to parts availability.
Otherwise it will take time and money to get the deposit back, if the landlord is not going to comply, stop paying rent, and you'll save enough money to make up for it. Then the bond/rent dispute can be resolved in a bit more comfort, later on. It is quite hard to evict you for non payment of rent, if you play the game, you can be there for many many months. Obviously this still implies staying there, which is going to be difficult if you have no heating. How much will the boiler cost to fix?0 -
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The_Ejaculator wrote: »The landlords engineer of choice couldn't even have the decency to return my calls and messages so I got somebody out at my own expense. They could do the boiler work pretty much straight away so the LL agreed to them carrying out the work (Landlord currently on a beach in Florida and very reluctant to answer their phone - usually takes several calls/texts to get a response). This is the situation with regards to the electrics, they have not replied to my messages or the gas engineers who has called them to say that it is dangerous.
When are they coming back?
How much will the boiler cost to fix to a safe standard?0
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