Can't afford to heat rented house, can't afford to move.

thegirlintheattic

I doubt there is anything more the LL will do about the heating - their responsibility is to maintain the heating already present. I used to live in a house with only a gas fire in one room to heat the whole place and I would never describe it as uninhabitable. Do you have adequate insulation? If not, contact LL.

If it is warm upstairs with the GCH then move your living room upstairs if possible while you save for a move.
Try to keep 1 room warm and insulated.
Use the open fire correctly - amazing how many people don't build up the fire so it doesn't produce much heat.
Kitchen - are you keeping it ventilated?

tbs624

Some useful tips stephen82 but you have to try to keep a property ventilated, as well as heated,(especially a damp one) so duct taping all the windows up (1) for half the year is perhaps not advisable and it doesn't sound as though the OP would manage to overheat the rooms (4) ..

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BitterAndTwisted

It appears that the OP has logged off. I do hope they shall return to see how many helpful replies they have had.

I also hope they investigate that thread on Old-Style I recommended: there's no end of sneaky thing you can do with bubble-wrap and a few cheap blankets. Stopping-up draughts in window-frames can be so simple and cheap but perhaps the OP was rather hoping that some of us could come up with a simple way of coming up with the necessary cash to move to somewhere more comfortable instead.

shegar

Im so sorry to hear of how cold your house is, I cant offer you any advise thats not already been said, I hate a cold house and really feel for you both, I hope you can soon find a smaller home that you will be able to keep warm, take care in the cold......

tbs624

thegirlintheattic wrote: »

I doubt there is anything more the LL will do about the heating - their responsibility is to maintain the heating already present. I used to live in a house with only a gas fire in one room to heat the whole place and I would never describe it as uninhabitable. Do you have adequate insulation? If not, contact LL.

The LLs responsibility is more than that - excess cold is specifically listed as one of 29 "housing hazards" in the HHSRS, ditto damp.

An example prosecution for you back in late 2010, sourced from the EDP newspaper:

Norwich landlord fined £15000
An absentee landlord has been fined £15,000 for failing to ensure that three properties in Norwich were sufficiently heated.

Relay Arch, which owns flats in Earlham House, above the shopping centre, was found guilty in its absence at Norwich Magistrates’ Court on Thursday of three breaches of a section 11 improvement notice.

It was fined £5,000 for each property, totalling £15,000, and Norwich City Council said it would gain access to all of the rental units at Earlham House until Relay Arch stopped being an absentee landlord.

Magistrates heard that London-based Relay Arch had failed to take enough action to improve the flats which were so cold that they were detrimental to people’s health.

Those properties came under an HHSRS Category 1

tbs624

Just another thought for the OP if she returns - check with your utility supplier about special rates and one off help. EDF for example has its EDF Energy Trust which can assist some customers who are struggling to pay their bills

lynzpower

thegirlintheattic wrote: »

I doubt there is anything more the LL will do about the heating - their responsibility is to maintain the heating already present. I used to live in a house with only a gas fire in one room to heat the whole place and I would never describe it as uninhabitable. Do you have adequate insulation? If not, contact LL.

If it is warm upstairs with the GCH then move your living room upstairs if possible while you save for a move.
Try to keep 1 room warm and insulated.
Use the open fire correctly - amazing how many people don't build up the fire so it doesn't produce much heat.
Kitchen - are you keeping it ventilated?

Its not about habitable or not. that went out years ago. In any case, its pretty clear you are not an EHO

Tbs is right. I could go on and on but its probably best that you take a look at

Preventive measures and the ideal
2.19 Structural thermal insulation should be provided to minimise heat loss. The level of
insulation necessary is in part dependent on geographical location and exposure,
position in relation to other dwellings and buildings, and orientation. South facing
glazing can be used to increase solar heat gain and so save energy.
2.20 Heating should be controllable by the occupants, and safely and properly installed and
maintained. It should be appropriate to the design, layout and construction, such that
the whole of the dwelling can be adequately and efficiently heated.
2.21 There should be means for ensuring low level background ventilation without excessive
heat loss or draughts. It should be controllable, properly installed and maintained, and
appropriate to the particular part of the dwelling. There should be means for rapid
ventilation at times of high moisture production in kitchens and bathrooms.
2.22 In multi-occupied buildings provision for space heating may be centrally controlled.
Such systems should be operated to ensure that occupants are not exposed to cold
indoor temperatures and should be provided with controls to allow the occupants to
regulate the temperature within their dwelling.
2.23 For further information see in particular – Building Regulation Approved Document L1:
Conservation of fuel and power in dwellings, and Approved Document F: Ventilation
of buildings.
Housing Health and Safety Rating System
61Relevant matters affecting likelihood and harm outcome
2.24 Matters relevant to the likelihood of an occurrence and the severity of the
outcomes include:
a) Thermal insulation – inadequate insulation of the external envelope of the dwelling,
including the presence of cold bridges.
b) Dampness – in such a position, and sufficiently extensive and persistent as to
reduce the effectiveness of the thermal insulating material and/or the structure.
c) Settling of insulation – compression of the thermal insulating material reducing its
effectiveness.
d) Type of heating provision – inappropriate or inefficient systems and appliances.
e) Size of heating system – systems and appliances inadequate for the size of dwelling.
f) Installation and maintenance of heating system – inadequately installed or
maintained systems.
g) Controls to heating system – inadequate or inappropriate controls to the system
or appliance.
h) Amount of ventilation – inadequate, excessive, or inappropriate provision for
thorough ventilation.
i) Ventilation controls – inadequate means of controlling the ventilation.
j) Disrepair to ventilation – to the system or controls.
k) Draughts – uncontrollable draughts and those situated to cause discomfort

The rest of the document is available at:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/142631.pdf

thegirlintheattic

lynzpower wrote: »

Its not about habitable or not. that went out years ago. In any case, its pretty clear you are not an EHO

I wasn't saying environmental health would call it habitable. I was pointing out, in my own experience, having a house with only one gas fire never got cold enough that I would have wanted to live somewhere else.

lynzpower

thegirlintheattic wrote: »

I wasn't saying environmental health would call it habitable. I was pointing out, in my own experience, having a house with only one gas fire never got cold enough that I would have wanted to live somewhere else.

Just because you are a martyr or you have lower standards than others does not mean that we should all live without adequate heating.

Its great you would put up with one fire in a house but most of us wouldnt. And the legislation and how its' enforced is crystal clear.

tbs624

thegirlintheattic wrote: »

I wasn't saying environmental health would call it habitable. I was pointing out, in my own experience, having a house with only one gas fire never got cold enough that I would have wanted to live somewhere else.

.. which doesn't really help the OP who also says the property is damp, has badly maintained windows and mushrooms growing from the kitchen wall.