Poor heating system, what are my rights?

clutton_2

are you sure there is not a 6 month break clause in your tenancy agreement

bris

This makes me laugh it really does, while I agree that the heating is inadequate and should be fixed, you would choose to sleep in a room with clothes on and health issues rather than buying a cheap £15 halogen heater to sort the problem. Is it a matter of principal? The LA isn't the one suffereing , you are so take control of the matter.

poppysarah

It's not just the cost of the heating, it'll be the extra cost of the electric.

I can only assume the insulation level isn't that good either,

tbs624

mummydarling wrote: »

Is that the energy form?
I was given that on the day I moved in (after I signed the tenancy agreement)

You should have been shown the EPC *prior* to you signing the tenancy agreement.

mummydarling wrote: »

I'm now stuck here for another 10 months!

You are not necessarily stuck there for a further 10 months. You can ask the LL whether they would agree to you moving out sooner, if you pay the advertising costs for finding a new T. You would continue to be responsible for the rent & other costs due under the contract until a new T could move in. LL does not have to agree but it is a possibility.

The current cold snap is exceptional - many people will be adding extra duvets/swapping with a warmer bedroom etc. Get extra linings for the LL- issue curtains and get one of those electric blankets that can be left on low overnight or, as the others have said, move downstairs for few weeks ( am amazed that you didn't think of shoving the kids into a shared bedroom until another poster suggested it)

Record the temps in the 4th bedroom and ,if they really are very low, then you could try asking the LL to reduce your rent until the spring.

If you are in receipt of certain benefits the LL may be able to get more insulation put in.

You could ask the local Env Health Officer to arrange for the property to be inspected under HHSRS ( Housing Health and Safety Rating System) but you are likely to be low on the list of priority cases as there will be others whose whole property is freezing cold.

You could always invest in one of these attractive little numbers

getmore4less

Check the loft conversion has building regs and planning if needed.



When I was a kid we used to sleep in rooms with no heating and managed in the beds fine.

Do you have insulation under you as well as on top, matresses are not good to lie on with out good insulation, this is something we overlook these days since we mostly heat rooms.

Get a duvet/blankets under you.

If you open the doors before you go to bed the warm air should go upto the room.


or sleep in the lounge

princeofpounds

The answer to this is quite straightforward (at least legally).

Your only protection is through environmental health, who enforce the Housing Health and Safety Ratings System. HHSRS. They will come and inspect for free and force upgrades if necessary, although your landlord could always choose to not renew your tenancy when it ends as an act of revenge. But if it is unliveably cold who cares?

Talk to your LL first though, if they are reasonable.

Also check that there aren't more basic problems here like radiators that need air bleeding.

Oh, and investigate if you can get a warm front grant to insulate the place, which will require less financial input from the LL.

Otherwise, exercise your choice as a consumer and leave at the soonest opportunity (not much consolation over winter though).

Eton_Rifle

I'm interested to know if there are minimum comfort levels too. I don't believe there are as when I rang the local council to enquire prior to renting out a couple of cold houses, they said it wouldn't be a problem for me.

One house I rent out is almost impossible to keep warm despite the central heating. I've never known it get above 15 degrees just using the central heating and the only way to get a room warmer than that is to light a fire and sit in front of it or use portable heating.
I make it very clear to prospective tenants, provide all the documentation, offer portable radiators and then it's up to them whether they accept it as they have all the information up-front.
There's nothing I can do about the heating in this house, it is what it is.

I also rent out another house that has no central heating at all in several rooms and one of these rooms is really pretty unusable in the depths of winter unless you go to a lot of effort and expense to heat it. Again, I make sure the prospective tenants have all the information up front and offer radiators but no-one has ever taken me up on it.
With this house, I could put heating in some of the rooms but there's nothing I can do to upgrade the existing heating in the unusable in winter room I mentioned above, it's never going to be a warm room.

Did your landlord go through the likely bills, show you the EPC and offer solutions with your rental?

princeofpounds

There are no comfort levels, just safety levels. Read the HHSRS, there is a load of info on the web. Heating and Damp are specifically covered as hazards

hazyjo

Sounds like the insulation in the house needs looking at! We're in a Victorian terrace and don't actually use the heating in the bedroom! It's never freezing, but we are using our double/winter duvet now. Our downstairs gets colder as it's a thru-lounge and there's only 2 rads in the dining room end (mind you, hubby's always moaning it's like a sauna!).

Are the windows double glazed? Is it a dormer or something? There's good advice and tips somewhere on MSE about keeping your house warm (foil behind rads - although that's no good for your bedroom if it's not on(!), stuff over windows, etc). I'd try that route too - and definitely get a heater for the bedroom! Don't let any heat escape! I suppose having your bed in the loft conversion is the main problem... there's probably tips online about keeping a loft conversion warm...

Jx

Geenie

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

I believe that a landlord has to supply an adequate heating-system but in the current cold-snap a lot of systems could be found to be inadequate.

I don't think this is true. I know LL's who let properties with no central heating at all, apart from an open fire in the lounge and perhaps a Rayburn in the down stairs kitchen. I have not heard of them being prosecuted or made to improve because breaking the law, as the property is let as seen, and the tenant agrees to the condition.

On the other hand, if the OP is renting a property where a radiator in situ is not working properly, then it is a different matter. The LL or LA should get it sorted. That said, it is bitterly cold at present, and I am sure lots of us are wrapping up more and investing in extra heaters to manage the cold. EPC's should be shown on viewings, not as the tenant moves in.