Boiler Broken do i pay rent?

Geenie

Can I get this straight!
The heating broke down on Saturday. A plumber turned up on Monday, the first working day.......and better then most of us could expect at this time of year!

The LL AGREED to the repairs and they were meant to be carried out on the Thursday, but weather conditions prevented this!


Where has the LL not done their best and carried out their duty, and therefore should be deducted a weeks rent?!!

The OP should request additional heating at the LL's expense to tide her over for the time a repair cannot be made, but any home can have faulty heating, and the weather conditions are extreme and not the LL's fault.

bris

The LL should provide tempory heating but is under no obligation to pay the running costs for it.

Hammyman

brightonmum wrote: »

Hi,
i didnt think to ask about that as it would have cost them more by putting us in a hotel, so i shouldnt not pay the rent for a week?
im happy to pay for the other 3 weeks

I have insurance so if my tenant needs to be moved out for any repairs, the insurance covers the cost of alternative accommodation.

Its a business and providing temporary heating or accommodation is a business expense. Its not your worry whether they can afford it or not.

Niv

Just out of interest, a few people have said the LL should provide alternative heating. Is this 'should' as a legal obligation or 'should' out of the goodness of their hearts?

tbs624

Niv wrote: »

Just out of interest, a few people have said the LL should provide alternative heating. Is this 'should' as a legal obligation or 'should' out of the goodness of their hearts?

LL has a definite legal obligation on heating for both space and water

LL&T Act 1985, S11 Repairing obligations in short leases..

(1) In a lease to which this section applies (as to which, see sections 13 and 14) there is implied a covenant by the lessor— (a) to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling-house (including drains, gutters and external pipes),

(b) to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling-house for the supply of water, gas and electricity and for sanitation (including basins, sinks, baths and sanitary conveniences, but not other fixtures, fittings and appliances for making use of the supply of water, gas or electricity), and

(c) to keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling-house for space heating and heating water.

If they cannot get a heating problem fixed within a "reasonable" time period (which would be shorter in the winter) then the LL is in breach of these obligations. Providing temporary alternative means of heating helps remedy that breach.

Experienced LLs maintain spare heaters "just in case": alternatively heaters can be hired by the week/day

djbum_syd

Not all heaters are expensive to run nowadays. My mum and I have ones that costs about 5p an hour. Sounds expensive, but it's really not.
I have electric and gas meters and I often run my electric heater instead of using the gch as it's so much cheaper.

brightonmum

Geenie wrote: »

Can I get this straight!
The heating broke down on Saturday. A plumber turned up on Monday, the first working day.......and better then most of us could expect at this time of year!

The LL AGREED to the repairs and they were meant to be carried out on the Thursday, but weather conditions prevented this!


Where has the LL not done their best and carried out their duty, and therefore should be deducted a weeks rent?!!

The OP should request additional heating at the LL's expense to tide her over for the time a repair cannot be made, but any home can have faulty heating, and the weather conditions are extreme and not the LL's fault.

hi i never said my ll hadnt done thier best my ll are briliant, better than a lot of others in fact the best, its just ive incurred extra charges so was asking question, but my landlords actually clld me on saturday and advised me not to pay in the rent untill the boiler was fixed as they would deduct money for the days i have not been there, they are brilliant, thank you everyone for your help though intresting to read about what should be done etc if i was ever in tht situation again

tbs624

Thanks for updating brightonmum. Glad to read that your LL is doing the right thing

snakegamer

My boiler has been broken for a month now, its feburary and cold, I have had 2 engineer visits but still no fixed boiler, I am thinking of using the rent and gettign someone else to fix this, am I in my rights to do so?

G_M

snakegamer wrote: »

My boiler has been broken for a month now, its feburary and cold, I have had 2 engineer visits but still no fixed boiler, I am thinking of using the rent and gettign someone else to fix this, am I in my rights to do so?

Advice on the topic from Shelter:

Doing the repairs yourself and withholding rent

You do not have the right to withhold the rent, regardless of whether the landlord carries out repairs or not. If you do so, the landlord might try to evict you.
However, if you have strong tenancy rights (for example if you are an assured or regulated tenant) it may be possible for you to arrange for the repairs to be done yourself and deduct the cost from your rent - but this is not recommended.
If you want to take this course of action, it is absolutely essential that you follow the correct procedure; otherwise you could put yourself at serious risk eviction and you will still be liable for the rent - you will also be responsible for putting right any repairs that are badly carried out.
Always talk to an adviser before taking any action - use our directory to find one. Whatever you do, don't just stop paying the rent!