Leaking boiler rented flat huge bill

babybutton_2

Hi, I wonder if any of you can help me. I'm very upset at the prospect of having to pay a huge water bill. I live in a rented flat. I received a letter from Severn Trent today alerting me to a large increase in my water usage. I have been living in this property for 6 years and there's always been an issue with the boiler despite the fact that it is 'serviced' every year. The pressure always drops and the heating doesn't work well.

A couple of months ago my Dad noticed that my boiler was constantly heating water up and then wasting it down a pipe into the ground. He noticed this because of the trickling sound of the water and the fact that the pipe was always hot. I called the letting agents and they sent a plumber over. He mentioned something about a valve being left open. I must point out here that I haven't touched the boiler at all - I haven't been meddling with it! I have no knowledge about boilers at all and always leave these things to the expert. The only reason my dad noticed was because he was moving my washing machine which lives in the same cupboard. A month after the Landlord called me directly to ask about the leak and whether there was any damage (there wasn't because the water wasn't leaking into the property just down a pipe). He then told me would be sending his own heating engineers/plumbers over to the flat because some other work needed to be done (vent in order inspect the 'flew' apparently. Whilst the Landlord's plumbers were here they told me that the boiler hadn't been annually inspected properly by the Letting Agent's plumbers - they told me there had been gaps on the paperwork which had alerted the landlord and hence his decision to send his own workmen over.

So, I'm awaiting a huge bill from Severn Trent with genuinely no way to pay it. I don't feel it's my responsibility. I'll happily pay for any water I have used but this water hasn't been used by me at all. I've always provided access for the annunal check etc and alerted the agents to any problems straight away. Is my landlord responsible?

deanos

You could claim a leakage allowance, i know Anglian Water will allow for internal leaks i presume Severn Trent will do the same ?
, you would probably have to provide a receipt to prove there was a leak fixed, not sue how far back you could claim either might be only the most recent bill

Gothicfairy

The problem you will have is that this is a 3rd party dispute and STW will not get involved.
The other issue is that the landlord could say as you live in the property how was he to know there was a problem unless you reported it before this bill ?

unclebulgaria

What you're describing is a leaking pressure relief valve, this operates usually when the central heating circuit becomes over pressurised either by over filling or expansion vessel problems. It sounds like its developed a fault, which isn't a big problem, and is leaking prematurely. What I can't understand is how you've had a massive increase in water usuage because it doesn't really take a lot to top up the heating circuit and bring it back to the correct operating pressure. The other reason I'd be looking at is your incoming mains water supply pipe has developed a burst under a floor somewhere and you can't see it. Turn off all running water points and if you have a meter, which you should have if they've noticed an increase, have a look at the numbers on the dial and watch to see if they are rotating. If they are you have a leak within the property's boundary which your landlord is responsible for so long as you have given him notice of a problem. He can only fix something if he knows about it.
Ask your LL's engineers to check the pressure relief valve by putting their finger over the end of the leaking pipe and checking for pressure build up, be careful if this water is hot.
Hope this helps.

tlh858

unclebulgaria wrote: »

What I can't understand is how you've had a massive increase in water usuage because it doesn't really take a lot to top up the heating circuit

The massive usage is probably due to the filling loop either being left open or the valves going faulty, so water is continually flowing in via the filling loop and out of the pressure relief valve.

With that happening 24/7 it wouldn't take long for a gigantic amount of water to be wasted away.