Should my landlord pay for draught proofing?

Norman_Castle

My bedroom in our 3 bedroom shared flat is exposed to a lot of wind and there are HUGE gaps around the sash windows that mean cold air is literally blowing my curtains around!

For free draughtproofing try using clear plastic bags twisted into a rope like shape and pushed into the gaps.

grizzly1911

Why did you and your mates choose this flat?

Saffy345

grizzly1911 wrote: »

Why did you and your mates choose this flat?

Location, big spacious rooms with new fittings and beautiful roof terrace. Oh, and on viewing we noted the single glazed windows and that was how the arrangement to fit curtains came about.

Saffy345

Spoke to the LL. He says he is going to come round next Thursday to fit curtains and draught proofing, as well as take a look at the water damaged wall. Fingers crossed he turns up this time!

macman

Your landlord appears to be lazy and only motivated by collecting his rent.
Did he supply you with a landlord's gas safety certificate at the commencement of the tenancy?
If not, then make sure you get one, immediately, and remind him of his legal obligation to provide one and the potential penalty for not doing so.
That might also make him more amenable to doing basic maintenance and repairs.
Having said that, for a tenner's worth of draughtproofing, I'd just get on and DIY myself.

gmgmgm

Norman_Castle wrote: »

For free draughtproofing try using clear plastic bags twisted into a rope like shape and pushed into the gaps.

Clingfilm rolled into a rope can be even easier.

That should cost you a maximum of £2 to draught-proof your sash windows... there's really no need to spend hours on the phone to CAB or lawyers!!

Even spending the £20 on draught-proofing would have been only 1.5% of your monthly rent bill... almost nothing.

macman

And the time already wasted has cost you more than £20 in extra fuel consumption.

iamcornholio

gmgmgm wrote: »

Clingfilm rolled into a rope can be even easier.

That should cost you a maximum of £2 to draught-proof your sash windows... there's really no need to spend hours on the phone to CAB or lawyers!!

Even spending the £20 on draught-proofing would have been only 1.5% of your monthly rent bill... almost nothing.

The point is, a tenant has an agreement and is paying for a service .... the tenant agrees to pay rent, the landlord agrees to do repairs.

You might want to spend money on your own [owned] property, and stick clingfilm around the windows, but when you are paying for a landlord to maintain his property which you are renting, then its only reasonable to expect him to do that and not just happily take the rent every month while you sit in the cold and turn up the heating

27col

This thread seems to confirm my previous thread about the poor quality of rented accommodation. See here. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3561627

sophistica

Hi. I am a landlord but would ned to think through where you stand legally in with holding rent. Presumably you are on a fixed Assured Shorthold Tenancy so the landlord can ask you to quit at the end of your agreement and you may not want to. I personally don't get into battles with my tenants and they don't get into them with me. At the end of the day it seems unlikely that you are going to get a massive amount of action from your landlord, so here are some of the things that I would do (to make yourself comfortable).
1. The pound shop sells draught proofing strip.
2. Also check that you have no draughts from gaps around the window frame and the skirting boards.If you do you can fill these with stick on draught proofing strip too.
3. I have found the best place for curtains is eBay (you can also try Gumtree and preloved). Look for INTERLINED curtains (this is where you have a layer of a blanket type material in between the curtain and the lining. You can get curtains very cheaply second hand. Look for local curtains/distance first and you would also save on postage.
4. Go on to the Old Style forum. There is a thread on staying warm in Winter.
5. If you talk to your landlord, ask him about insulation grants and heating grants from the Council which are awarded free to landlords to make his rental houses warm at no cost to himself.

I wouldn't get yourself into a legal wrangle over a few quids worth of home remedies, most of which you can take with you when you move. Also buy a hot water bottle and a fleece.