Should pay the reduced rent this month?

before_hollywood

pay the rent and negotiate for your expenses back

if he acts like an idiot then move elsewhere

and cold? i had no heat when it was -11 and my gas meter broke

RAS

17 degrees is desparately cold? That's pleasantly warm and I would never heat a room beyond that unless I was sitting down doing nothing for a long time or taking a bath/shower.

However, not having proper lights, fridge, possibly heated water is problem and yes, a reduction is reasonable but not at the levels you are suggesting.

benjii

Guys,

It's seems the problem is over. The electricity has been restored and the landlord offered £300 reduction in rent, which is almost 40% of the total. My wife found it fair and we agreed.

Thanks again for your advice.

I will now heat the flat to out preferable temperature level (21 degrees), drink a cup of tea, and have a long bath:j.

Framps

Good work Benjii.

To be fair, no electricity is a pretty serious situation. We had a power cut for three / four hours the other day and that was bad enough. The temperature in our house plummeted in those few hours. Fortunately we have gas hobs so we could cook, but no lights, no internet, no tv, no fridge, no freezer... I think some people on this board underestimate how bad that is, particularly with regards to the facetious comments about temperatures.

And, in point of fact 17 degrees is cold - for two reasons:

1. 17 degrees was not the night-time temperature in London last week - in fact it may only have hit 17 at mid-afternoon on one day last week, the rest was at least two or three degrees lower. Tonight the BBC website tell us there will be night-time lows of 4 degrees. My fridge is set to 4 degrees. That is cold.

2. Room temperature is taken to be between 20 and 25 degrees. Last time I checked, 17 was lower than 20, which, to drag this example out, means that 17 is colder than room temperature. That is cold. Just think about how hot 3 degrees above the room temperature range actually is...

kunekune

We keep our thermostat at 18, and our house is not cold. So I would dispute your view on what room temperature means. However, I agree that it may well have been hot during the night.

But I am puzzled by Benji's references to family responsibilities and children: is he living with his wife AND children in a studio flat? Or have I got the wrong end of the stick, as usual.

CarineG

I would also try to negotiate a rent reduction with the landlord as opposed to withhold some of the rent. I'm sure he will agree to this.

It's not a really good move on his part to be out of contact for 2 days in such situation.

I don't think anyone has experienced 10 days without electricity when living with children. Yes, one can deal with the cold however it's difficult with the other necessities (light, washing, cooking - no hot food or drink for 10 days!!!). I wouldn't put up with it.
If I was a landlord in this situation I would offer a reduction on the next month. No one should be living without electricity these days.