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Claiming settlement for non-working boiler at start of tenancy
m-bee
Posts: 47 Forumite
Please no one quote this.
Short version is in bold.
Short version is in bold.
I moved in to a council property last year where the council make as fuss about making the home "habitable and bringing it up to a living standard" and they even get a surveyor in to state what needs to be done.
I saw the flat before they did it up and they refurbished mostly the kitchen and bathroom.
4 days before a gas engineer came to recommission the gas.
Upon moving in I realised the boiler wasn't working properly.
It's one of those very old boilers which have a manual timer and where you can see the flame through a hole.
Firstly the timer was very stiff and wouldn't turn automatically, secondly the boiler turned on for 15 approximately minutes then shut it's self off without turning back on again.
This way the water would only "heat up" to less than luke warm.
I've had to take some half days off of work to begin so they can inspect the boiler and put in a new timer. The gas engineer put in a new request for a boiler twice, once when he came to look at the programmer and again when he installed the programmer, but the council didn't get back to me.
I had to keep phoning them and eventually they agreed to put in a new boiler.
I had to have someone come to look at the boiler again (when this man came he said that the council should have put in the new boiler before they refurbished the kitchen and he didn't even check to see if it worked or not according to my mum, do a survey on the boiler, do an asbestos survery and then it takes 2 days to take everything out install everything and have the builder fix everything up.
I have had no hot water/no heating from the start of my tenancy agreement to just last week which is just a few days under 3 months.
The council should have done this work before I moved in.
The few half days I had was fine because I can just make them up in the same week. But the 2 days I had off so they could install the boiler and additional works were unpaid as I had no more holiday hours left at work.
I am already planning to request that they pay me back for my loss of earnings and a halogen heater I had to buy to keep me warm.
But I'm wondering how much I should possibly request living without hot water and central heating for 3 months and having it be such an inconvenience?
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Comments
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When & how (eg last year 17th September by email..) did you report these problems to the council?? Hopefully in writing so you can prove what they were told & when...
I moved in to a council property last year where the council make as fuss about making the home "habitable and bringing it up to a living standard" and they even get a surveyor in to state what needs to be done.
I saw the flat before they did it up and they refurbished mostly the kitchen and bathroom.
4 days before a gas engineer came to recommission the gas.
Upon moving in I realised the boiler wasn't working properly.
It's one of those very old boilers which have a manual timer and where you can see the flame through a hole.
Firstly the timer was very stiff and wouldn't turn automatically, secondly the boiler turned on for 15 approximately minutes then shut it's self off without turning back on again.
This way the water would only "heat up" to less than luke warm.
I've had to take some half days off of work to begin so they can inspect the boiler and put in a new timer. The gas engineer put in a new request for a boiler twice, once when he came to look at the programmer and again when he installed the programmer, but the council didn't get back to me.
I had to keep phoning them and eventually they agreed to put in a new boiler.
I had to have someone come to look at the boiler again (when this man came he said that the council should have put in the new boiler before they refurbished the kitchen and he didn't even check to see if it worked or not according to my mum, do a survey on the boiler, do an asbestos survery and then it takes 2 days to take everything out install everything and have the builder fix everything up.
I have had no hot water/no heating from the start of my tenancy agreement to just last week which is just a few days under 3 months.
The council should have done this work before I moved in.
The few half days I had was fine because I can just make them up in the same week. But the 2 days I had off so they could install the boiler and additional works were unpaid as I had no more holiday hours left at work.
I am already planning to request that they pay me back for my loss of earnings and a halogen heater I had to buy to keep me warm.
But I'm wondering how much I should possibly request living without hot water and central heating for 3 months and having it be such an inconvenience?
Did you follow their fault-reporting process??
Have you raised a complaint with the council & if so what was their response??
What are your actual losses and how can you prove them ?? eg extra electric bill, cost of heaters... - particularly as not having lived there before how would you know what normal bills would be....
Cheers!0 -
theartfullodger wrote: »When & how (eg last year 17th September by email..) did you report these problems to the council?? Hopefully in writing so you can prove what they were told & when...
Did you follow their fault-reporting process??
Have you raised a complaint with the council & if so what was their response??
What are your actual losses and how can you prove them ?? eg extra electric bill, cost of heaters... - particularly as not having lived there before how would you know what normal bills would be....
Cheers!
I asked you not to quote! Can you delete it please. Also why would you need to quote it, people don't need to read the original post twice or see what you are referring to.
I reported via their repairs line online and on telephone.
When something is reported or any repairs needed it goes straight to the council so yes I have followed their process otherwise the work would have never been carried out. I cannot get my own contractors to do the work because I am renting, so everything is done through the council they have their own contractors.
I haven't raised a complaint yet, I plan on complaining and requesting compensation in the same letter.
My losses are "loss of income" for taking mostly 2 days (unpaid) off and some half days whilst the work was carried out, yes I can prove that.
I'm asking how I value not having no heating/ no water from the start of my tenancy for 3 months when they promised to bring it up to living standards before I moved in.
This work should have been done before I moved in, even the gas engineer said this.0 -
The value is, as I understand the law, what it has cost you (eg extra leccy bill). Question is, will the council agree.
It always amazes me when landlords don't fix things promptly or don't make some gesture like reducing the rent.
In future if possible write (yes, WRITE.. keep copies) to landlord about anything significant, as well as 'phoning.
Have you read their fault-reporting & complaints process? In particular what it says about how long repairs should take? You could use it to your advantage.
Please feel free to quote anything I post, in any thread. This is a free and open forum....
Cheers!0 -
Well I'm not sure of the electric bill as I have only received one and that was based on one month as the bill comes through quarterly. So I can't really come to a conclusion based on that.
So the the cost is loss of earnings and having to buy an electric heater but I also want something for the inconvenience of it all.
I don't know if the council will agree but they if they do agree they where in the wrong they will only give me what I ask especially if they think I can get so much more from them.
Yeah I have briefly read their fault reporting and complaints process.
The complaints process comes in 3 stages so if I don't agree with their original reposnse I can take it further at least 2 more times. However I'm so confident that I don't think it will go that far. I just hope they don't try and evicted me for this even though they owe me.0 -
What sort of tenancy do you have? Introductory, assurred, secure?0
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Introductory,
It's introductory for first 12 months then automatically becomes secure.
During the sign up they said the only reasons I will be evicted is for not paying rent and becoming a nuisance to neighbours etc... obviously this is just a different type of circumstance.0 -
Not automatic: read the paperwork & info on HA & Shelter website.
Basically, try not to annoy them.0 -
You do know that Google has copied it for the rest of time....Please no one quote this.
Short version is in bold.
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Please+no+one+quote+this.+Short+version+is+in+bold.&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:unofficial&client=firefox-aurora#hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&gs_rn=2&gs_ri=serp&tok=C6EYx_ury0uc9MpWSHqNqA&pq=%22please%20no%20one%20quote%22%20%20%22short%20version%20is%20in%20bold.%22&cp=26&gs_id=me&xhr=t&q=%22Please%20no%20one%20quote%22%20this%20%20%22Short%20version%20is%20in%20bold.%22&es_nrs=true&pf=p&client=firefox-aurora&hs=eEH&tbo=d&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB%3Aunofficial&sclient=psy-ab&oq=%22Please+no+one+quote%22+this++%22Short+version+is+in+bold.%22&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bvm=bv.42080656,d.d2k&fp=bca179790ae44dcf&biw=1173&bih=597:footie:
Regular savers earn 6% interest (HSBC, First Direct, M&S) Loans cost 2.9% per year (Nationwide) = FREE money. 0 -
What?
It's there because it's linked to this thread!0
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