Can I refuse further viewings on rental?

fc123

Wee_Willy_Harris wrote: »

I'd spotted the "live and let live", hence the "negotiate".

I know what that lovely sea air can do to the exterior of a house!

You seem to have everything else pretty much sewn up. I do hope the move, and whatever follows, goes smoothly and that your daughter is, at last, happy with her lot!

DD? She'll be less grunty if she can waft around on carpet wearing just a vest and hotpants when it's -10c outside.

I haven't been ill for the whole 3 years so the fresh air (the curtains move and flutter when the windows are shut if it's windy) must be a healthy thing. Maybe it could be a positive selling point?

I am going back to urban living in suburban London and am not looking forward to it apart from being near all the family again.....but I know we will live by the sea again one day.

Wee_Willy_Harris

fc123 wrote: »

DD? She'll be less grunty if she can waft around on carpet wearing just a vest and hotpants when it's -10c outside.

I haven't been ill for the whole 3 years so the fresh air (the curtains move and flutter when the windows are shut if it's windy) must be a healthy thing. Maybe it could be a positive selling point?

I am going back to urban living in suburban London and am not looking forward to it apart from being near all the family again.....but I know we will live by the sea again one day.

Those curtains moving? They let the salt through so that it can get into your soul. And if you listen, you'll still hear the sea sometimes, for a few months at least, wherever you are. You'll be back.

lynzpower

Im sorry FC but your home sounds like a category A health hazard.

You have every right to refuse any viewings.

Its my professional opinion that you should be requesting an assessment from EHO.

I am absolutely staggered that you have allowed the led pipes with your daughter in the premises, this is a major health hazard

I know you dont need a lecture from me about yhow to protect your kids but cripes this is making my hair curl and has more than likely had a major health effect whether its apparent or not on you or someone in your family

:eek:

Rant mode off but you should be grateful to come away with your lives. I only say this as I care

x

fc123

lynzpower wrote: »

Im sorry FC but your home sounds like a category A health hazard.

You have every right to refuse any viewings.

Its my professional opinion that you should be requesting an assessment from EHO.

I am absolutely staggered that you have allowed the led pipes with your daughter in the premises, this is a major health hazard

I know you dont need a lecture from me about yhow to protect your kids but cripes this is making my hair curl and has more than likely had a major health effect whether its apparent or not on you or someone in your family

:eek:

Rant mode off but you should be grateful to come away with your lives. I only say this as I care

x

The lead pipes didn't come to light until they burst...so after, we only drank bottled water. I grew up with them but I do know they are A Bad Thing. My dad still has them too and he is nearly 80.

I guess we wouldn't have found out unless the flood had happened.

EHO? I feel that this property is now no longer in a good enough condition to be rented out TBH which is why the whole viewing/RM thing is winding me up.

The draughts, the rust, the structural stuff we just took in our stride.
The electrics are the only thing that seem quite new (like 80's new) ..never had any problems with them and dodgy elecs scare me as we had to rewire our first house.

Wee_Willy_Harris

lynzpower wrote: »

Im sorry FC but your home sounds like a category A health hazard.

You have every right to refuse any viewings.

Its my professional opinion that you should be requesting an assessment from EHO.

I am absolutely staggered that you have allowed the led pipes with your daughter in the premises, this is a major health hazard

I know you dont need a lecture from me about yhow to protect your kids but cripes this is making my hair curl and has more than likely had a major health effect whether its apparent or not on you or someone in your family

:eek:

Rant mode off but you should be grateful to come away with your lives. I only say this as I care

x

Let's not panic. Lead pipes are still quite common in many properties built as recently as the 1970's. Obviously, the older the property, the more likely you are to find lead pipes. But, the OP lives in a hard water area, which effectively negates the risk with lead pipes as the calcium content of the water is high enough that a layer builds up inside the pipe reducing the contact between lead and water.

fc123

Wee_Willy_Harris wrote: »

Let's not panic. Lead pipes are still quite common in many properties built as recently as the 1970's. Obviously, the older the property, the more likely you are to find lead pipes. But, the OP lives in a hard water area, which effectively negates the risk with lead pipes as the calcium content of the water is high enough that a layer builds up inside the pipe reducing the contact between lead and water.

I was born in Wales and left aged 8 and my mother remembers us always having 'bugs' and sickness. When they moved back to London, it all stopped and my brother, then a baby never had any sickness at all. Parents used to get it too. I am sure she said it was because of lead in the water and soft water too?

fc123

Eton_Rifle wrote: »

I totally understand the appeal of these sorts of houses. My wife and I are drawn to them ourselves and once happily paid about three times more monthly rent than you do for a house in a similar condition and would do so again in a heartbeat! I'm sure we would have had lead pipes too but it wouldn't worry me.

Regarding the lead thing however, it's not just the water you drink that you have to worry about, you're also taking it in through your skin.
We currently live in a house that isn't connected to the water mains, neither in nor out. Our water is drawn from a well in the bedrock under the house. It has no filtration on it, it comes out of the taps and showers exactly as it's pumped out of the rocks. We don't drink it but since we do bathe in it, we have to test it regularly because we are absorbing it through our skin.

What does the 'test' test for? What would happen if the lead content was dangerously high? How would you 'clean' the water.

kitschkitty

I can't believe no-ones worried about carbon monoxide poisoning. Not having a gas safety certificate isn't "naughty" it's downright dangerous. :eek:

Fair enough we all decide if the condition of the home we are living in meets our own personal needs and standards. The house we rent isn't fantastic, but it is safe and secure.

I couldn't let such important safety issues go though, first and foremost I'd be worried for my family, but I'd also be very worried for any one (renting) who came after me and had to deal with health hazards.

But on the issue of viewings you are totally within your rights to say no, and you don't need to provide a reason. It's only down to your good will to accept viewing appointments at all.

Personally I would feel the need to report the safety issues, because even though their not my responsibility I couldn't live with the idea that peoples health or even lives could be affected.

Wee_Willy_Harris

kitschkitty wrote: »

I can't believe no-ones worried about carbon monoxide poisoning. Not having a gas safety certificate isn't "naughty" it's downright dangerous. :eek:

In all fairness, I didn't say it was just naughty... I said "No gas cert is very, very naughty. Very naughty indeed." and advised that action was available.

Wee_Willy_Harris

fc123 wrote: »

What does the 'test' test for? What would happen if the lead content was dangerously high? How would you 'clean' the water.

I wouldn't want to frighten you.... but.... it's not just about cleaning the water.

Lead levels can be detected in the blood via simple blood tests or (particularly in children) in the bones via x-rays. But, it is a cumulative condition in that the body is very poor at excreting lead, which leads to a build-up over time. Treatments are available to assist the body in getting rid of the lead chemicaly.

Obviously, the source of the lead needs to be addressed as well (pipe replacement etc) but lead occures in many ways other than just drinking water. For example, car fumes used to be a major source (so the busy metropolis may have once been a backward move, lead wise). Lead free pertrol has now all but eradicated that issue. But other sources still exist.

The romans used lead pipes ("Plumb" is derived from the Latin for "lead") with very low levels of lead poisoning, and lead was used in the solder for copper pipes until relatively recently. Most houses built before 1970 will have lead somewhere in the water supply.