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Horrible cold flat
pinkxstarsx3
Posts: 5 Forumite
Hello, I moved in to a student flat in September. I have been bearing the cold and it has now got too much!
Our flat is very long and has a attic conversion for a bedroom. There is tiling and wooden floors through out with carpet only in the hallway and stairs.
The only heating we have is electric heaters on the wall. There is 1 to heat up the whole hallway near the front door and the kitchen. None in the hallway or near the stairs, one in the bedroom and one in the living room. The house is ridiculously cold and we have to have the heaters on constantly. The bedroom and living room will heat up in about 30mins to an hour but as soon as the radiators are turned off the temperature drops and they need to be put back on. The heater in the hallway and kitchen does not make any difference what so ever when on and doesn't heat up the kitchen and hallway atall as it is such a big space so the heat goes straight out the front door the walls and windows. In the night it is painfully cold in the bedroom and there is no way to even put the electric heater on a thermastat. When we put our clothes on they smell damp and fusty and feel soo cold.
I wondered if I had any case to ask the landlord to do something about the heating in the house or if this is something i just have to put up with.
Thank You.
Our flat is very long and has a attic conversion for a bedroom. There is tiling and wooden floors through out with carpet only in the hallway and stairs.
The only heating we have is electric heaters on the wall. There is 1 to heat up the whole hallway near the front door and the kitchen. None in the hallway or near the stairs, one in the bedroom and one in the living room. The house is ridiculously cold and we have to have the heaters on constantly. The bedroom and living room will heat up in about 30mins to an hour but as soon as the radiators are turned off the temperature drops and they need to be put back on. The heater in the hallway and kitchen does not make any difference what so ever when on and doesn't heat up the kitchen and hallway atall as it is such a big space so the heat goes straight out the front door the walls and windows. In the night it is painfully cold in the bedroom and there is no way to even put the electric heater on a thermastat. When we put our clothes on they smell damp and fusty and feel soo cold.
I wondered if I had any case to ask the landlord to do something about the heating in the house or if this is something i just have to put up with.
Thank You.
0
Comments
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were you shown an EPC before you rented it?0
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No we wasn't0
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pinkxstarsx3 wrote: »No we wasn't
Really, a student? I despair!0 -
What could we do if they had shown us one?0
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Where did you see the property advertised?
If online, sites like Rightmove give Agents the option to upload EPCs so you can look at them, a lot of Agent's websites have the same facility.0 -
Your LL can be fined by the local Trading Standards Officer if he failed to get an EPC done/shown to the Ts before they signed up.
That said, did you not check out what type of heating was in place when you looked round the property?
Get to Oxfam, jumble sales etc and buy up some old blankets or extra curtains to line the LLs curtains/hang behind the doors.
Record the temperature at different times of the day and in different parts of the property for a week and then discuss with the LL. Ask what insulation is in place and whether the LL would be able to improve it
If the property really is excessively cold with inadequate means of heating it then get the Env Health Officer/ Private Sector Rentals Officer to assess the property under HHSRS ( Housing Health and Safety Rating System)
If the issue is more that you can't afford the bills then you all need to look at getting thermal underwear, woolly socks, hot water bottles, cheap fleece rugs etc and seeing if you can perhaps switch to a cheaper utility tariff.0 -
The value of EPCs is viewed by many as being very limited but it does give the property a rating which you can compare to other similar properties. Asking previous occupiers about their utility bills is probably of more use, but not always possible.pinkxstarsx3 wrote: »What could we do if they had shown us one?
The EPC also flags up potential improvements which *could* be made by the LL, but there is currently no obligation to follow those through.0 -
Hi
Let's think about some mitigation here as well as longer term solutions.
1. Buy a hot water bottle (or two since you refer to our). Put that in the bed half an hour before you retire. In the morning wrap your underclothes round the hotwater bottle and use the residual heat to take the edge of their coldness. When I am camping in cold weather I pull at the very least my t-shirt into the sleeping bag as well. And if necessary I wear a hat as well.
2. Primark sell fleece pyjamas for about £6 - a worth while investment.
3. Hit the charity and £1 shops and get to gether as many cheap old blankets, fleeces and throws as you can and make sure you have enough layers on the bed to ensure that you are snug as bugs.
4. Use any other blankets or old curtains to cover windows and pull across doors.
5. Checkout draughts round windows and doors. Short term draught excluders include old carpet, cut into strips and tacked to door bottoms and sides.
6. In the attic consider making a four poster; they were not so much for style as to keep the occupants warm. A long broomstick hung from the roof and covered with a fleece would form a "tent" that would keep a lot of the heat in.If you've have not made a mistake, you've made nothing0 -
Thankyou for everyones help. This has been very useful.0
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