Legal Renting Requirements - Our House Is A Nighmare

Elle7

Hi,

I'm hoping someone will be able to offer advice on my current situation.

I moved into a house on the 22nd September, after looking for a while. It came down to the last week before I needed to move, and I took somewhere that had been on the market for a while but was okay.

Up to this weekend, it had been mainly okay. There are storage heaters, which is inconvenient, and no phoneline, but I was quite happy. The landlord has only just bought the house (4 or 5 months ago) and tried to let it immediately, so they haven't lived here. There are lights that don't work, the storage heater was broken - the landlord did send an engineer friend last week to fix that, though.

The temperature dropped on Friday, and the house got drastically colder. The storage heaters are on full, and are warm, but there are two in a massive room. One of the walls is a big window, so it loses heat quickly. It's freezing cold. I've bought two heaters myself but they've not done much, and I've put candles on to try and get heat, but it's just freezing. I did phone the landlord, who sympathised, and said she'd had a insulation survey but wasn't going to act on it because it'd be too expensive at the moment. They've got personal things going on at the moment, so they brushed it off a bit.

There was also no hot water on Friday afternoon, which I thought was odd, but largely ignored. It hasn't heated up at all this weekend. There doesn't appear to be a fault - there's no fault lines - the taps just all run freezing cold. The boiler makes noises like it's heating up if you run it, but no hot water actually comes. I don't know if this is due to the drop in temperature?

The low temperature has affected me hugely. I've just got over pneumonia, which the hospital attributed to coldness, and my arthritis is so bad its seized my shoulder and I can hardly move my legs. I'm utterly miserable.

Contract-wise, I did insist on a six month break clause, so I can leave in February - but I'm so cold and miserable and I don't know how I'll get through the winter months like this. To make matters worse, the house is in the middle of nowhere, so I can't get out to go somewhere warmer in the day. My health has been rock bottom since we moved in, but I thought I'd get used to the slightly lower temperature, but now it's dropped even more I don't know what to do.

I'm so cold my fingers are blue...

All advice is appreciated.

E x

whalster

My wife has been cold a bit since the temp dropped me and the 2 bambinos are fine ,what is fine for one is cold for another however you do need hot water so inform your landlord it is not working. if your in the middle of nowhere don't you have open fires? this is one of the only things that gets my mrs warm, sawing up the logs !
on a more serious note mention to your landlord about warm front grants this may be an option

tbs624

Did you not ask to see an EPC before renting this property? (energy performance certificate)

Have you actually checked the temp of each room on a thermometer? If not, do so and make notes at different times of the day.

LL cannot just brush you off - they are legally obliged to maintain the means of heating both water and space within the property. You must report these issues *in writing* to the LL and keep a copy. If they can't get the water boiler fixed within a couple of days then they should make temporary arrangements, for example via the hiring of a portable plug in water boiler (HSS hire etc)

They should also be able to sort some cheap /free insulation see http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/free-cavity-loft-insulation - EDF offer expires on Oct 31st ( you don't need to be a customer of theirs)

If the LL has only recently bought th eproperty it may be that s/he is a total amateur and will need a bit of a push to get on and see to things. Don't be fobbed off.

The Old Style Board on MSE had some hardcore "Im not putting me heating on yet, it costs too much " types who had lots of useful suggestions on how to keep a property and yourself warm. You mention a massive window - can you get some extra thick curtains/add heavy linings?


edited to add - old style link https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4202003

Yorkie1

Write to the LL informing them of the lack of hot water (even if you ring them, follow it up with a letter) and get proof of posting.

I agree that there are likely to be grants available either to your LL or to you with the LL's consent, for insulation. The energy saving trust often give excellent advice on this issue.

As for keeping warm, my sympathies. Can you take some cheap steps to improve the house, such as those films which you attach to the windows to 'double glaze' them? Fleece blankets (or those snuggies) really help to keep the chill off when sitting still. Also hot water bottles ditto.

Make sure you wear layers rather than just one thick layer.

I'm sure there are lots of other tips over on the Old Style Money Saving board (I think it's that one).

Fire_Fox

What do you mean by freezing cold, do you know what temperature it is? Do you have copies of all the right safety certificates? Have you written to the landlord to report the issues with the heating and hot water, as well as telephoning? If so you can contact Environmental Health at the local council, they can force the landlord to install more heating or more insulation and repair the hot water system.

You can purchase loose linings for curtains - apparently blackout linings actually retain more heat than thermal linings. Get an electric underblanket for your bed and an electric overblanket for your sofa, use the 'overnight' setting and you will be toasty for pennies. Order from Amazon or the like if you cannot get to the shops. Wear layers, fabrics that are known to keep the heat in - bodywarmers and fleeces for example. Candles won't do anything except risk burning the house down! :eek:

Better_Days

I sympathise greatly - the cold has an enormously detrimental effect on my health too. Just adding layers doesn't work for me if I am cold in the first place. The room around me has to be warm too. Being cold at home is exhausting and a recipe for misery.

So can you concentrate on keeping one room warm and living and sleeping there for the time being? Can you use heavy curtains and draught excluders under the doors? Maybe an oil filled radiator for some extra heat? The electric blanket suggestions are a good idea. I also use a wheat pad heated in the microwave which is good for wrapping round painful joints. Although a difficult balance do make sure you have some ventilation too.

Others have given you some good advice about the best way to deal with the LL's inactivity on the heating and water.

We will be going into rented this winter and one of my biggest worries is how easy the place will be to heat.

I do hope that you can get warm soon.

dimbo61

lots of companies doing free loft and cavity wall insulation up to the end of the year so get on the net and phone in the morning and see if you can get Free insulation.
Do you have gas water heating or is it just electric ?
Hot water needs to be HOT so as others have said check the temp of the hot water and each room at several times during the day.
You need to write a LETTER to your landlord using bullet points to state what is wrong with the property.
Ask for a copy of the EPC and Gas safety cert ( if the property has gas )
If the electrics are unsafe or not working right then speak to EH and the council and ask for them to be checked. You should be able to see an electrical installation certificate or Safety cert.
This is your home for another 5 months so if you do nothing then nothing will happen

Elle7

Thanks everyone.

We've got three more plug-in heaters, and ordered a thermostat to record the actual temperature on here. It's 4 degrees outside today and my phone states that it's 8 inside. It's very cold. I have bought duvets downstairs, installed blackout curtains across the big window, and I'm wearing most of my clothes and two nightgowns.

The hot water is still not working. I have left four voicemails for the landlord, and sent an email. I've also posted a letter although they might not have got that yet, their post seems to be delayed. I tried contacting the letting agent but they've said they can't help as the property isn't managed.

I believe we have an electric boiler. We did have a free loft and cavity wall check two weeks ago - they recommended a jacket for the boiler because the pipes would freeze otherwise. They will be carrying out work in June next year, due to demand, but I'll be gone by March if it's still this cold. I'd leave now if I could, my health has suffered so much. Even a hot water bottle isn't warming me up sufficiently - I'm hoping social services might be able to help when they come round, as we are spending £40 a week in electric trying to keep this place warm in just the living room. I'm even sleeping down here.

The only thing the tenancy agent could suggest was maybe the water hasn't been swapped over into our name, and has therefore been cut off. I know the electric is with eon because we got bills so I filled in a moving-house form, but we've had nothing about the water. The landlord swapped the council tax into our name. But surely if the water had been cut off, we'd have no cold water either? The cold water is fine, but the hot isn't working at all - the dishwasher, washing machine etc aren't working anymore either. It's just freezing cold, regardless of how long you run it for, or wait.

I'll ask for a copy of the EPC now, and try phoning the landlord again.

Any other advice is appreciated - I'm really struggling with this due to being so ill, and not used to dealing with housing problems. My doctor has recommended I just leave and find somewhere else to live, but I couldn't afford the rent here until March, and I have to stay for a minimum of 6 months.

chris_m

Elle7 wrote: »

The only thing the tenancy agent could suggest was maybe the water hasn't been swapped over into our name, and has therefore been cut off. I know the electric is with eon because we got bills so I filled in a moving-house form, but we've had nothing about the water. The landlord swapped the council tax into our name. But surely if the water had been cut off, we'd have no cold water either? The cold water is fine, but the hot isn't working at all.

The agency is talking a load of cobblers - of course the water hasn't been cut off, as you've proved by checking the cold water.

Elle7

The landlord sent an electrician round today - he's just been. He thinks the cold has caused the element to blow, and the immersion, so he'll tell her we need a plumber to drain it so it can all be replaced.

He's told us that it'll probably be around 2 weeks, although it might be sooner.

He also said that this happens often, along with the heaters breaking, because the system is so cold but the landlord has no interest in upgrading it. Which has not made me any more keen on the place.

Anyway, I thought I'd update. In the future I'll make sure I don't rent anywhere that's so old - I really wish I could leave and find somewhere better.

hazyjo

Probably stating the obvious, but nobody I've ever met uses their storage heaters right (including my BF who I'm still teaching this week!).

Put the overnight storage temperature on full (6?). Leave the other one on 1 or zero, and open slowly as and when needed during the day. If you're running out of heat by the end of the day, you're releasing too much. If you're leaving the vent open overnight, the heat will vanish the second it's created.

My BF's flat is freezing, but we did find ourselves hot last night under the duvet on the sofa with the storage heater on.

Is it one big open room with stairs off, or could you shut doors?

How are you cooking? Always remember to open your oven door after cooking. We're mainly using a tabletop grill and even the heat from using that helps warm the flat.

Jx