Rented Property, Faulty Toilet, Excessive Water Bill

mattyk123

Hi all,
Myself and my housemate are renting a flat and we have had our first water bill through which is just over £400 for the two of us for 6 months (since the beginning of our tennancy). Southern water agree that this is extremely high for a small two bed flat that does not overly use water beyond the bare necesities. Now people we've talked to believe the toilet may be at fault here and the letting agency are sending a plumber round to take a look.

Supposing the toilet is faulty and losing water for us, do we have a valid claim against the letting agency/landlord for supplying us with a faulty toilet in order to get back part of the water bill?

bris

Can you hear the toilet constantly running?

mattyk123

Yes there was always the sound of water movement in there but being completely clueless in regards to the mechanics of toilets, I was not aware that it could be the water being needlessly lost.

PZH

mattyk123 wrote: »

Supposing the toilet is faulty and losing water for us, do we have a valid claim against the letting agency/landlord for supplying us with a faulty toilet in order to get back part of the water bill?

Probably not if the fault was not reported?

mattyk123 wrote: »

Yes there was always the sound of water movement in there but being completely clueless in regards to the mechanics of toilets, I was not aware that it could be the water being needlessly lost.

Clueless or not - How can you not be aware if you are hearing constantly running water in a toilet?

mattyk123

Well the fault was not known until the bill came through, prompting investigation. And when I say i'm clueless, I do not know what every model of toilet is meant to sound like normally. We've had a number of routine checks by the letting agents too and they have not mentioned anything about the constant dripping. Also in my last (unmetered) property the sound was constant but not prominant enough to cause concern.

My point is having found a fault in the toilet because of a bill, the letteng agency rented me a property with a fault that has seriously affected me financially. I'm asking for further opinions because we were told by southern water that if there is a fault, the landlord (or whoever manages the property is liable for part of the bill.)

PZH

mattyk123 wrote: »

My point is having found a fault in the toilet because of a bill, the letteng agency rented me a property with a fault that has seriously affected me financially. I'm asking for further opinions because we were told by southern water that if there is a fault, the landlord (or whoever manages the property is liable for part of the bill.)

I appreciate what you are saying, but it depends (in my opinion) if the letting agent or the landlord knew of the fault. If they inspected it, or knew of the fault, and failed to do anything about it then fair enough.

Not sure if you could claim that they should have inspected the property to that extent before you moved in ? (They would have been required by law to check the gas every year and, dependant on the type of dwelling, the electrics as well)

Maybe you could try on the House Buying, Renting & Selling board - a lot of Landlords read it and they might be able to advise you better?

PS: "And when I say i'm clueless, I do not know what every model of toilet is meant to sound like normally." - for reference - a toilet should not normally drip at all, and no water should be going into the bowl Unless you flush it of course) or out of the overflow when the cystern is full.

bris

Looks like your cistern is not fully closing, this causes the filler to keep filling and the excess water constantly being flushed down the toilet, just like your money.
The other thing it could be is your ball valve being set to high and the excess going down the overflow. Take the top off and have a look, it may be very easy to fix by adjusting the valve.

PZH

bris wrote: »

Looks like your cistern is not fully closing, this causes the filler to keep filling and the excess water constantly being flushed down the toilet, just like your money.
The other thing it could be is your ball valve being set to high and the excess going down the overflow. Take the top off and have a look, it may be very easy to fix by adjusting the valve.

Easy as it is (although not everyone has seen the inside of a cistern) - the fault should be rectified by the landlord. (And urgently I would have said)

The fault should be detailed in writing so that the tenants have a dated copy.

Proc

Indeed take the top off and take a look. I'm no plumber but the first time I looked into the top of a toilet it was very logical. "Oh, there's a big plastic ball that floats. Oh cool, when the water goes down, so does the ball which causes a tap to turn on until the ball is high enough to close the tap again. Wow, I wish everything else in life was as cool as a toilet".

Have a little poke around. You'll probably find that the ball isn't quite coming high enough to fully close the tap before the overflow starts (there's a little pipe at the back usually where the water drains out at a certain height). If this is the case it's an easy fix. Just get an empty, sealed washing liquid bottle (or something small and buoyant) and use some elastic-bands or string to tie it to the underside of the ball. Problem solved.

PZH

Proc wrote: »

...Have a little poke around.... Problem solved.

Indeed...

Then Landlord comes around and states "Very sorry, but there is NO fault with the toilet so I will not accept any liability" ?

Proc

phoodless wrote: »

Indeed...

Then Landlord comes around and states "Very sorry, but there is NO fault with the toilet so I will not accept any liability" ?

Definitely far better to just sit there wasting more water and running up more of a bill. Does nobody have common sense these days?

If OP is that worried, take some pictures of the toilet now, then take some after you've fixed the problem detailing what you've done.

Oh forget it. Just sit there, do nothing and let the bill run up even higher.