Tenant vs Landlord

jenbo

Can anyone help ?

I moved into a private rented property in September last year ! During Nov and December i had 6 engineers out to fix the boiler as it kept going off. All engineers reported the boiler was old and needed replacing but my landlord would not replace it. I have recently received my gas bill (for 3 months) which was an astonishing £390 !!!! (i have never paid this in a year in previous properties) ! I rang and BG and questioned the bill and confirmed all meter readings which were all correct. I explained i work full time and my heating is only on 1 hour in the morning and 3 hours of a night, i understand gas has gone up but this was ridiculous, they explained that if my boiler was an old boiler it would not be working properly and would be using more gas. I cannot afford to keep receiving bills like this every 3 months... is there anything i can do to make my landlord put a more economical boiler in !!!

Thanks any advice would be muchly appreciated

russelsprout_2

Googlefight reckons 'Tenant' wins.

http://www.googlefight.com/index.php?lang=en_GB&word1=Tenant&word2=Landlord

clutton_2

if he does not have the money to buy another one - your only course of action is to move out

neas

move out

mlz1413

The LL has to have a Gas Safety Cert once a year, but other than that you can't make the LL do anything.

It's worth checking if the boiler has had a service, whilst this is standard with most GSC it is not (bizarrely) a requirement.

I used to live in a rented house and the boiler had it's GSC but no service, it banged and clunked when working and would only work when on flat out, trying to keep a constant temperture just meant it got airlocks, which in turn meant my gas bill was the same as yours and that was 5+ years ago.

I loved the house and the LL was a really nice man, but enough became enough and I moved out.

jenbo

Thanks for advice

Only thing is i signed up for a year contract so i won't be able to leave until September this year !!!

The property had a gas safety done on it a week b4 i moved in, but obviously that didn't pick up any problems with the boiler as i had 6 engineers out since !

socrates

He probably has an insurance policy for the boiler - which means he does not mind how many times they come out.

Another way around it more cheaply - which I am not a great fan of is a grant from WarmFront and their sister company Iguana.

If you have an old fashioned boiler which is not environmentally friendly you apply for a grant for a new one with them (or your LL does).

The whole process takes 6-12 weeks - a normal replacement boiler will cost him £1000 - £1500 with them it will be around £600 more or less.

As I said its not my preferred option but with a stubborn LL and you not in control it could be making the best of a bad situation.

He can also claim tax relief - perhaps you should remind him that with interest rates coming down and rents staying at similar levels he will want some expenses to offset against his larger tax bill - that's if he is declaring his income.

mlz1413

jenbo wrote: »

Thanks for advice

Only thing is i signed up for a year contract so i won't be able to leave until September this year !!!

The property had a gas safety done on it a week b4 i moved in, but obviously that didn't pick up any problems with the boiler as i had 6 engineers out since !

well at least most of that time will be warmer months (albeit we are in the UK!).

I'd write and ask the LL if the boiler is being planned to be changed, if you don't get a reply or the answer is no, then you have plenty of notice to get ready to move out in September.

paulsin

jenbo wrote: »

Thanks for advice

Only thing is i signed up for a year contract so i won't be able to leave until September this year !!!

The property had a gas safety done on it a week b4 i moved in, but obviously that didn't pick up any problems with the boiler as i had 6 engineers out since !

Are you sure?I recently finished a year long tenancy agreement, but could've terminated early as long as I gave a month notice.

I'd get out and find another place. Sounds far too messy to me

sooz

jenbo wrote: »

Can anyone help ?

I moved into a private rented property in September last year ! During Nov and December i had 6 engineers out to fix the boiler as it kept going off. All engineers reported the boiler was old and needed replacing but my landlord would not replace it. I have recently received my gas bill (for 3 months) which was an astonishing £390 !!!! (i have never paid this in a year in previous properties) ! I rang and BG and questioned the bill and confirmed all meter readings which were all correct. I explained i work full time and my heating is only on 1 hour in the morning and 3 hours of a night, i understand gas has gone up but this was ridiculous, they explained that if my boiler was an old boiler it would not be working properly and would be using more gas. I cannot afford to keep receiving bills like this every 3 months... is there anything i can do to make my landlord put a more economical boiler in !!!

Thanks any advice would be muchly appreciated

Are you sure that you know how to use the boiler correctly? You may be heating water all day, when it is not necessary. Do you have instructions for it?
How high have you set the water temperature & the heating temperature?
How well insulated is the property compared to your last ones?

If your LL has a service plan with BG, they love to say that every boiler is old, uneconomical & that you need a new one. All their staff are basically sales reps (although some have Corgi qualifications), & they are all on commission.

If your boiler is now working, & has a current gas safety certificate, there is nothing you can do to force your LL to put in a new one. You can ask him, but even then, don't expect it to make a huge difference to your bills. You need to insulate too, so that when you heat the house, it doesn't all escape.

I have a new condensing boiler, & still had a bill over twice yours for the same quarter. And I've never felt warm :mad: . Gas prices have gone up hugely. But the main reason I've not been warm, is that my house is drafty. I must get round to fixing those drafts - mainly by hanging curtains up (I prefer blinds, but they are far less effective!).

m_13

Energy Performance Certificates had to be provided for rented property from 1st October 2008 and one of the key benefits is it allows tenants to see estimated energy usage and compare properties.

As others have said, if the landlord does not want to provide a more efficient boiler then there is nothing you can do other than move.