Student rental - burst tank - help!

Heliflyguy

G_M wrote: »

Sounds like you've been very lucky with your LL. the burst tank was almost certainly the result of your failure to leave the heating on low/turn off the water. Frozen pipes = burst pipe.

You are expected to act in a tenant-like fashion, which includes treating the property with care.

Many tenancy agreements go further and have a clause specifying that heating must be on if the temperature drops.

You could be liable for extensive costs!

Ah, to presume, it also may be the case that the landlord has been negligent and not ensured the pipes have been lagged correctly.
Also acting in a tenant like fashion means not to damage the property and to fix minor defects and is not relevent in this case.
LLs are legally obliged for safety, repairs and maintenance and cannot pass on this obligation to tenants so how can an LL prove that the heating hasnt been on, is there some formula somewhere that takes into account all the nuances such as room size, heating output, thickness of loft insulation, thinness of pipe lagging, how long heating is on, outside temp max/min etc etc.....no I didnt think so.
I doubt there is any legal obligation to the tenant at all at the end of the day as it would be impossible to say the tenant is responsible or negligent.
Some LLs must think tenants are made of money.

clutton_2

Some tenants must think landlords are made of money.

""I doubt there is any legal obligation to the tenant " -

enshrined in property legislation are a number of concepts such as Quiet Enjoyment - Tenants Allowing Access to the property for repairs - and Acting in a Tenant like manner

This last one is about tenants taking every care possible to treat the property in a good tenant like manner... taking precautions against freezing pipes is, in my view, one of these issues...

LL have to ensure insulation and lagging is done.... tenants have to ensure enough heating to prevent freezing...

if any of my tenants came and said they could not afford to keep the heating on , i would rather make a contribution to their fuel bills than pay £!000 excess on my insurance policy....

claire2007

Thanks for alll your advice everyone! Mostly it has been really useful. Discovered now that we had no roof insulation, we always thought it was very cold. Also having an uncle for a plumber, i understand that burst pipes ect is a very expensive problem, we would never do anything to damage our house, despite some of the 'student sterotypes' that people seem to have. Also as we left the house prior to the big freeze, we had no idea of what was coming and had little control apart from contacting our LL.

clutton_2

so where will you be living ?


""Discovered now that we had no roof insulation"" - i bet her insurers will have something to say about that..... mitigating their risk and all ,,,,,

chappers

It sounds like they did act in a tenant like manner, sometimes these things happen, I remember as a kid that our cold water tank in the loft froze, even though we were living there with the heating on.
You cannot withold your rent but, your LL is still under contract to house you.
If there is extensive damage to the property and the place will be uninhabitable longterm, say beyond the end of, or for a large proportion of, your tenancy ,it may be that the contract is frustrated, but only if it is impossible for your LL to carry out her obligations.

Heliflyguy

clutton wrote: »

Some tenants must think landlords are made of money.

Ive yet to meet a poor landlord.

LL have to ensure insulation and lagging is done.... tenants have to ensure enough heating to prevent freezing...

How much heat is required to stop freezing? ... can you not see the problem in your statement?


if any of my tenants came and said they could not afford to keep the heating on , i would rather make a contribution to their fuel bills than pay £!000 excess on my insurance policy....

Then you have my respect as you are no doubt an above board landlord.

Hope the weather gets better soon..

clutton_2

thank you helify ... ""How much heat is required to stop freezing? ... can you not see the problem in your statement?



making sure that the boiler is left on is as much as anyone can do i agree.... do we actually know if this was the case here ?

""Ive yet to meet a poor landlord""

i think if tenants actually knew how little profit a LL makes on a mortgaged proety they would be quite shocked

many BTL landlords who have bought in the last few years are relying on capital growth when they sell to gain the majority of their profit

sequence

clutton wrote: »

i think if tenants actually knew how little profit a LL makes on a mortgaged property they would be quite shocked

many BTL landlords who have bought in the last few years are relying on capital growth when they sell to gain the majority of their profit

It's not really any concern of the tenant though is it. I know I don't care how little profit tescos must make on a tin of 9p beans never mind how much profit a landlord makes.

clutton_2

no its not ... so i wonder why heliflyguy raised it ?

not_loaded

A couple of points here:

1) A well-insulated loft space makes the environment up there much colder, not warmer, as you insulate the floor of the loft, not the roof. If you read the instructions for loft insulation you’ll find that you have to take this into account and not lag under the cold water tank, and lag the pipework and the tank such that it’s part of the ‘warm bit’ not the ‘cold bit’.

2) OP says no loft insulation, therefore the loft should actually have been warmed quite adequately by the heating being left on. That’s why it’s so easy to spot people with inadequate loft insulation when it snows.

I’m betting this problem was caused by an old galvanised tank simply giving up the ghost, which may well have happened any time. Nobody ever maintains things like that, they just wait for problems to show up. Show up it did…