Heating,New owners,

Kazzaroo

Hi need some advice (background information at https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4735176)

We have had no working boiler (Electric used to heat water but not heating) since moving into the property at the end of July,Landlord was aware and said they would get a plumber out when they could to have a look,We waited 2 weeks before contacting them again,They rang back 3 weeks later and made an appointment for plumber to come round for the week after,The day arrives and the plumber doesnt arrive,i ring LL and they say his van AND his mobile have both broken within the same week and so he wasnt able to get to any appointments for at least a week,left it a week (luckily it still wasnt cold enough to need heating) and rang them back,They then said they had a "ding dong" with their existing plumber and were in the process of finding another,fast forward 2 weeks and they finally find another plumber,Plumber finally arrived on Thursday but didnt do anything but cap it off because there was debt on the meter (that we were totally unaware of because of not having a working boiler),as mentioned in previous thread our house was up for auction on thursday,i attended the auction and it sold,spoke to LL on friday to try and arrange for plumber to come around again to sort it out,LL (apparently) didnt know the property had sold (i didnt tell them that it had) and said she was waiting to speak to plumber to check his availability to come back round and would get back to me by the end of the day (Friday 13th) needless to say i never got another phone call,just wondering what my rights were concerning getting the boiler sorted, do the new owners who brought on 12th september now responsible or is it existing LL ?,I am assuming paperwork and legal things will take at least a few weeks to sort out and obviously the nights and early morning are getting very cold.

Any help would be appreciated and if things arent clear please feel free to ask

Soleil_lune

Kazzaroo wrote: »

Hi need some advice (background information at https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4735176)

We have had no working boiler (Electric used to heat water but not heating) since moving into the property at the end of July,Landlord was aware and said they would get a plumber out when they could to have a look,We waited 2 weeks before contacting them again,They rang back 3 weeks later and made an appointment for plumber to come round for the week after,The day arrives and the plumber doesnt arrive,i ring LL and they say his van AND his mobile have both broken within the same week and so he wasnt able to get to any appointments for at least a week,left it a week (luckily it still wasnt cold enough to need heating) and rang them back,They then said they had a "ding dong" with their existing plumber and were in the process of finding another,fast forward 2 weeks and they finally find another plumber,Plumber finally arrived on Thursday but didnt do anything but cap it off because there was debt on the meter (that we were totally unaware of because of not having a working boiler),as mentioned in previous thread our house was up for auction on thursday,i attended the auction and it sold,spoke to LL on friday to try and arrange for plumber to come around again to sort it out,LL (apparently) didnt know the property had sold (i didnt tell them that it had) and said she was waiting to speak to plumber to check his availability to come back round and would get back to me by the end of the day (Friday 13th) needless to say i never got another phone call,just wondering what my rights were concerning getting the boiler sorted, do the new owners who brought on 12th september now responsible or is it existing LL ?,I am assuming paperwork and legal things will take at least a few weeks to sort out and obviously the nights and early morning are getting very cold.

Any help would be appreciated and if things arent clear please feel free to ask

A tad confused. (Re the bolded bit.) Wouldn't the new owner and the existing LL be the 'same' person? Surely the person who took over the property on the 12th September would now be responsible for the repairs?

In my tenancy agreement when we rented privately, it said the repairs should be fixed in a 'reasonable amount of time.' I HATE this ambiguous 'ruling;' there should be a set amount of time for everything, and heating, hot water, toilet fixing, running water and shower if there is no bath should all have a deadline of 3 days, no matter HOW much the LL claims they can't afford it.

And even though things were supposed to be fixed in a reasonable time; this didn't stop my tightfisted landlady taking 4 months to fix the roof of the covered area by the back door which was flooding every five minutes and causing problems with with the neighbour's property, or her taking a fortnight to fix the shower, even though we had no bath. Excuse after excuse ensued, like I have no money and I don't make anything FROM this you know, but she could still afford to go gallivanting on 3 trips to Egypt, L.A, and New Zealand in the same year. Don't miss being a private tenant one bit and I genuinely feel sorry for anyone stuck in private let now, and especially for the people who are now her tenants!

Enough about me though LOL. Did you not get offered a new tenancy agreement when the new owners took over? You need to seek professional advice about this, but IMO, the heating is something that should be fixed within about 4 or 5 days: sooner in winter. I mean, most people would have no hot water if the heating isn't working. How long would landlords and landladies like to go with no heating or hot water?! Seriously, if you can't be bothered to look after the property you own, and treat your tenants with respect; DON'T be a landlord!

Kazzaroo

Soleil_lune wrote: »

A tad confused. (Re the bolded bit.) Wouldn't the new owner and the existing LL be the 'same' person? Surely the person who took over the property on the 12th September would now be responsible for the repairs?

In my tenancy agreement when we rented privately, it said the repairs should be fixed in a 'reasonable amount of time.' I HATE this ambiguous 'ruling;' there should be a set amount of time for everything, and heating, hot water, toilet fixing, running water and shower if there is no bath should all have a deadline of 3 days, no matter HOW much the LL claims they can't afford it.

And even though things were supposed to be fixed in a reasonable time; this didn't stop the tightfisted landlady taking 4 months to fix the roof of the covered area by the back door which was flooding every five minutes and causing problems with with the neighbour's property, or her taking a fortnight to fix the shower, even though we had no bath. Excuse after excuse ensued, like I have no money and I don't make anything FROM this you know, but she could still afford to go gallivanting on 3 trips to Egypt, L.A, and New Zealand in the same year. Don't miss being a private tenant one bit and I genuinely feel sorry for anyone stuck in private let now, and especially for the people who are now her tenants!

Enough about me though LOL. Did you not get offered a new tenancy agreement when the new owners took over? You need to seek professional advice about this, but IMO, the heating is something that should be fixed within about 4 or 5 days: sooner in winter. I mean, most people would have no hot water if the heating isn't working. How long would landlords and landladies like to go with no heating or hot water?! Seriously, if you can't be bothered to look after the property you own, and treat your tenants with respect; DON'T be a landlord!

The bolded bit was an accident and didnt mean to bold it

The property sold at auction on 12th september but i dont know the point it legally changes ownership and therefore responsibility changes, LL is well aware of our situation (A family with a young child of 2 on HB and a member of the household with mental health difficulties) so knows that we arent in a position do anything ourselves and claim the expenses back from LL,We feel LL will now drag their feet fixing the heating until new owners take possession,I spoke with "new" owners at auction and they are very understanding and were aware of the damp in front room and a new boiler being needed however they openly admitted that it sold close to their maximum and so it will take them a few months to save the money for a new boiler and damp proofing (they said they had a quote of 3k to fix the damp), We are currently facing not getting some food shopping for us (adults) so we can buy a room heater to ensure our child stays warm enough,We obviously dont want to do that but thats the situation we are in if current LL drags their feet.

anselld

Kazzaroo wrote: »

The property sold at auction on 12th september but i dont know the point it legally changes ownership and therefore responsibility changes,

Normally it is 28 days from auction to completion, which is when the responsibility changes. However, it would seem highly unlikely that the outgoing LL would invest in a new boiler or even a repair in that time.

The best way to force the issue will be to contact environmental health officer at the council. They have the power to enforce repairs.

pmlindyloo

Excellent article here:

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/disrepair_in_rented_accommodation/dealing_with_disrepair

You need to follow the actions stated in this link especially the part about writing to the landlord.

Until you have been notified that the new owners are your new landlords then your current landlord is liable for the disrepair.

Telephone Shelter for further advice about the change of ownership if you need to.

Soleil_lune

Kaz, I totally agree with the two posts above here ^^^ Your heating does need to be fixed, and I agree that you need to contact environmental health as the new owner/LL is unlikely to put a new boiler in anytime soon. As I said in another post though, people should not be landlords if they aren't prepared to accept the responsibility that comes with it and aren't prepared to treat the tenants as they would wish to be treated themselves, and in the case of your new LL, they don't have a fund for repairs or rent loss. Good luck.

p.s. It was 'me' who bolded that bit in the other post - not you. Just so you could see what I was referring to

Kazzaroo

pmlindyloo wrote: »

Excellent article here:

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/disrepair_in_rented_accommodation/dealing_with_disrepair

You need to follow the actions stated in this link especially the part about writing to the landlord.

Until you have been notified that the new owners are your new landlords then your current landlord is liable for the disrepair.

Telephone Shelter for further advice about the change of ownership if you need to.

I can do all this however as it says i have to allow a reasonable amount of time (28 days it says) however our need is more immediate,what can i do in the short term ?, if i have to wait 28 days then we will proberly have new owners and start all over again so we are looking at possibly 2 months to get any heating which would push us into november!,we cannot wait that long as the nights and mornings are getting colder.

Kazzaroo

Soleil_lune wrote: »

p.s. It was 'me' who bolded that bit in the other post - not you. Just so you could see what I was referring to

that explains it then,i will ring the council tomorrow and see what help they can provide,in the short term is a room heater going to help or would it be money down the drain ?

anselld

Kazzaroo wrote: »

I can do all this however as it says i have to allow a reasonable amount of time (28 days it says) however our need is more immediate,what can i do in the short term ?, if i have to wait 28 days then we will proberly have new owners and start all over again so we are looking at possibly 2 months to get any heating which would push us into november!,we cannot wait that long as the nights and mornings are getting colder.

It is just a general guide.
The sooner you start the sooner it will get fixed. You will not need to start again as the new LL will take over all ongoing responsibilities and liabilities of the old LL on completion.

If you want to stick to the Shelter process then write a letter to the LL today at "the address for serving notices" on the tenancy agreement. The letter should confirm all the previous reports and request urgent attention, given the fall in temperatures. Send the second letter in a weeks time and then contact EHO.

However, most EHO will act fairly promptly if there is an immediate safety issue and I don't think most would be too bothered that you had not followed the full letter protocol, so in the interest of speed I would just contact them straight away.

anselld

Kazzaroo wrote: »

that explains it then,i will ring the council tomorrow and see what help they can provide,in the short term is a room heater going to help or would it be money down the drain ?

A heater would help, yes, and the LL has a duty to provide one in the absence of repair to the main heating system.

RupertTheCat

Couldn't help chuckling over the "how long would landlords go without hot water themselves" bit - a friend of mine who is a landlord had his own boiler go bust earlier this year. It took him 3 months to get it fixed, during which time his family (him, wife, 2 kids) had no hot water and had to beg showers off friends and relatives!