No water (rented flat)

emmab25

Hi, I'm new on here, just looking for some advice on my rented flat sorry about the long story. At the start of December we had no water for a few days and when we eventually got water back, just as I was leaving for work I was met with what only could be described as a waterfall at the entrance door to the building where a pipe had burst. I reported it to my letting agency and they eventually sent someone out to sort it out while I was at work. When I got home my electricity was switched off(we were allowed to switch it back on later that night) and the plumber was trying to get to our pipes so there are now 2 holes in the lower part of the wall in our kitchen(which are still to be fixed). The plumbers couldn't switch the water off for some reason and were waiting for Scottish Water to come and switch it off. Once it was repaird we still had no water so called next day to ask agency to send someone out to have a look, got home and there were two pipes sitting on our kitchen counter with 2 holes in them but we had water so everything was fine. Asked them to send someone out to fix the holes in the wall, no sign of them yet since 11 December. The pipes downstairs have been left loose and uncovered and our pipes in our flat are loose and from what I've been told the plumber hasn't done a good job at all fixing our pipes so it was really inevitable that the pipe would freeze again so last Tuesday again we had no water. Waited till Christmas Eve and contacted my letting agency and they said theres nothing they can do apart from wait till it thaws out and if we could get a hold of heaters use them to thaw the pipes (we used hairdryers, hot water bottles etc) so waited and this morning it came on all was fine until my partner went out and noticed the pipes was dripping again. So I stocked up on water again and went downstairs to check and there was a small bit of water coming out the pipe 2 minutes later the waterfall came back again(much worse than the last time) and I had to switch off the water. So tried to phone Scottish Water no answer and phoned our letting agencies emergency number no answer there either (off for the Bank Holiday I'm guessing). So my question is should I have to pay the full amount of my rent for this month or am I due any compensation for this? In total this month we haven't had water for about 13 days (could be longer now due to the burst pipe) I know this can't be helped due to the weather we had but I feel the agency are letting me down a lot with repairs and fufilling our requests. We are going down to tommorow to speak to the letting agency, to let them know we are not happy in our flat. They seem to be hesitant to fix anything that is outside our flat because they are apparently no factors(?) for the building so no-one knows who is responsible for what I'm assuming. Help?

G_M

My eyes hurt!

Only bit I could read was about the rent. If you have a rental agreement you have to pay rent.

If something doesn't work, the landlord needs to fix it.

The two things are separate.

tbs624

As you refer to Scottish Water and "factors" this property is presumably in Scotland?

Properties have to meet the "repairing standard" as set out in Ch4 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006

• Accommodation must be wind and watertight and 'reasonably fit for human habitation'
• The structure and exterior must be in a reasonable state of repair
• Installations for the supply of water, gas and electricity must be in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order
• Fixtures and fittings and any appliances provided by the landlord must be in a reasonable state of repair and in good working order
• Any furnishings provided by the landlord must be able to be used safely and for the purpose they are intended for
• There must be a satisfactory means of detecting and warning about fire (such as smoke alarms)

Your LL is obliged to ensured that his property complies with the Repairing Standard at the start of the tenancy,plus "at all times during the tenancy" .

You cannot simply withhold your rent because of repairs issues. You need to make sure that you keep a paper trail so always report repairs issues in writing to the LA/LL and keep a copy. Take photos of any damage and keep notes on all workmen's visits: this will save you from unfair deposit deductions at the end of your tenancy.

Has your LL supplied you with bottled water/alternative temporary forms of heating etc? ( Electric water heaters can be hired by the day or week, at the LL's expense.)

Get a firm date ( in writing) from the LA/LL for the repairs to be finalised. Pay your rent as usual and seek to negotiate a suitable allowance to reflect the disruption.

You can apply to the Private Rented Housing Panel if you get nowhere with your LL. The PRHP can order the LL to undertake certain work and a Rent Relief Order may be made in some circumstances.

Another poster Artful Lodger, may be able to give you more specific suggestions as he lets out property north of the border
.

clutton_2

the agents will be acting on the instructions, or lack of, from the landlord.

It seems from what you say as if the agents have moved quickly each time you reported a problem. If you saw the pipes were exposed and uninsulated - why could you have not covered them over.. even with old blankets or cloths ?

Hammyman

clutton wrote: »

the agents will be acting on the instructions, or lack of, from the landlord.

It seems from what you say as if the agents have moved quickly each time you reported a problem. If you saw the pipes were exposed and uninsulated - why could you have not covered them over.. even with old blankets or cloths ?

A 3ft length of pipe lagging is like all of 50p from B&Q. I buy it to use as cable tidies, its so cheap.