How long can you be left without a working loo?

Callie22

I came home from work on Monday to discover our loo leaking - a lot. I cleaned everything up, and then contacted our letting agency by email* on Monday evening (we have no emergency contact numbers). I got a reply back on Tuesday morning saying that they could possibly send a plumber out on Friday. I got back to them to say that it probably wasn't a good idea to leave it that long as the landlord's house was getting damaged, and they grudgingly agreed to send their plumber out that day. The plumber came and disconnected the water supply to the toilet, and said he'd come back with the necessary parts on Wednesday. So, since Tuesday morning we haven't had a working loo in our house.

OH took a day off work to wait in for the plumber on Wednesday. The plumber didn't show up and we couldn't get hold of anyone. On Wednesday evening I sent an email to the agency asking them to call me by 10am on Thursday morning with a definite time that the plumber would be coming. I didn't hear anything until about half-four today, when they sent an email saying that the plumber had 'a bad reception' and they hadn't been able to contact him, but he'd 'try' and come on Friday afternoon.

I don't believe that the plumber will come tomorrow, and I'm really not prepared to spend all weekend without a working loo. I know a local plumber who will come tomorrow morning and fix the loo. I am willing to pay him, and then I will deduct the cost of the repair from the rent. Whilst I know that there is a formal process that you are supposed to follow for doing repairs yourself, in cases like this where we have not had a working loo since Tuesday and we can't be given a timescale for the agency to carry out the repair, is it reasonable to get the repair done myself tomorrow? I can't find any guidance online beyond stuff that suggests that repairs to WCs are considered 'emergencies' and should be attended to within 24 hours.

Apologies if this sounds grumpy, but I am really at the end of my tether with our landlord and letting agency. This is just the latest in a long string of problems and the agency are just getting worse.

*the reason I email rather than call is that our letting agency are utterly dishonest, and will tell you anything in a phone call. Having stuff in writing is a helpful way of reminding them what they actually said, rather than what they think they said.

lynzpower

Is the waste being flushed away? Is it clean water leaking or waste water?

Callie22

lynzpower wrote: »

Is the waste being flushed away? Is it clean water leaking or waste water?

The leak was clean water, although due to a botched repair job there are general issues and I suspect that there issues underneath - it's a ground floor bathroom so thankfully it's not dripping through a ceiling. The waste is being flushed away if we manually refill the cistern with a bucket, but due to the ongoing problems with the loo (it needs replacing, but the landlord won't pay) the cistern has to be refilled two or three times to flush anything away. Also, refilling the cistern causes the leak to reoccur, albeit on a lesser scale than when the loo was refilling automatically.

lynzpower

The fact is the loo is operational ( not ideal of course) but it is causing a sugbsequent damp problem and no major immediate health hazards from clean water.

I would nonetheless report it to the council housing standards team if the plumber does not arrive tomorrow, they will probably have a lead in time, ( where I work its 10 days) before someone will make the appointment.

If the repair has been completed before the appointment you can always cancel it.

G_M

1) stop emailing.
a) phone. Speak and insist on urgent repair. Do not hang up till you have a time when the plumber will come.
b) follow up by LETTER addressed to the landlord at the address you have on the tenancy agreement "for the serving of notices". Keep a copy.

2) how was the water isolated? I assume there is a tap/stopcock just for the loo, and the rest of the water supply is on?
Use the loo as normal. Turn on the water, wait till the cistern is full, then turn off the water again. Flush loo.
Repeat as required!

googler

Callie22 wrote: »

The waste is being flushed away if we manually refill the cistern with a bucket, but due to the ongoing problems with the loo (it needs replacing, but the landlord won't pay) the cistern has to be refilled two or three times to flush anything away. Also, refilling the cistern causes the leak to reoccur, albeit on a lesser scale than when the loo was refilling automatically.

Don't refill the cistern, then! Just pour water from the bucket straight into the bowl....

Kynthia

googler wrote: »

Don't refill the cistern, then! Just pour water from the bucket straight into the bowl....

If the problem is in or leading into the cistern then do the above and flush the waste away by pouring a washing up bowl of water down the pan.

mystery_girl

Callie22 wrote: »

I came home from work on Monday to discover our loo leaking - a lot. I cleaned everything up, and then contacted our letting agency by email* on Monday evening (we have no emergency contact numbers). I got a reply back on Tuesday morning saying that they could possibly send a plumber out on Friday. I got back to them to say that it probably wasn't a good idea to leave it that long as the landlord's house was getting damaged, and they grudgingly agreed to send their plumber out that day. The plumber came and disconnected the water supply to the toilet, and said he'd come back with the necessary parts on Wednesday. So, since Tuesday morning we haven't had a working loo in our house.

OH took a day off work to wait in for the plumber on Wednesday. The plumber didn't show up and we couldn't get hold of anyone. On Wednesday evening I sent an email to the agency asking them to call me by 10am on Thursday morning with a definite time that the plumber would be coming. I didn't hear anything until about half-four today, when they sent an email saying that the plumber had 'a bad reception' and they hadn't been able to contact him, but he'd 'try' and come on Friday afternoon.

I don't believe that the plumber will come tomorrow, and I'm really not prepared to spend all weekend without a working loo. I know a local plumber who will come tomorrow morning and fix the loo. I am willing to pay him, and then I will deduct the cost of the repair from the rent. Whilst I know that there is a formal process that you are supposed to follow for doing repairs yourself, in cases like this where we have not had a working loo since Tuesday and we can't be given a timescale for the agency to carry out the repair, is it reasonable to get the repair done myself tomorrow? I can't find any guidance online beyond stuff that suggests that repairs to WCs are considered 'emergencies' and should be attended to within 24 hours.

Apologies if this sounds grumpy, but I am really at the end of my tether with our landlord and letting agency. This is just the latest in a long string of problems and the agency are just getting worse.

*the reason I email rather than call is that our letting agency are utterly dishonest, and will tell you anything in a phone call. Having stuff in writing is a helpful way of reminding them what they actually said, rather than what they think they said.

I would read your tenancy agreement and see what it says about repairs.
I would also contact your local council and ask their advice about the matter. Looking online could help for private landlord regulations and tenants.

You can get free advice from shelter housing. 0808 800 4444 hope it helps

Road_Hog

lynzpower wrote: »

I would nonetheless report it to the council housing standards team

I would be careful on this one. A very quick way to get you notice served. If you're looking to move, then no problem, but if you're looking to stay awhile, then not a good move.

Callie22

Thanks for all of the advice. I have tried calling the agency but as I said, they'll say anything to get you off the phone. This is what constantly happens with repairs - we will be given a time and date but then no-one will turn up. The most recent episode was when we were told that some building work would be done (also on the bathroom - it's a looooong story going back over 18 months), so I got the house ready for the work, packed stuff away, put sheets over everything, only for the builder not to arrive as promised. Following a call to the agency to ask where he was, we got called back by by a laughing agent to tell us that the work wasn't going to happen, as the landlord had 'forgotten' to book the builder.

I really do want to go to the Council but as you say, we'll probably get evicted if we do. It wouldn't be the end of the world but as we're trying to save to buy a house, we could really do with not wasting that kind of money at the moment and nor do we want to get stuck in a fixed-term contract.

It probably sounds like I'm over-reacting about a loo but as I said, this is just the latest in a long line of issues - last year we ended up with no working bath, shower or sink for over a month, following some botched up building work. The builders recommended by the agent were a bunch of cowboys, and the landlord has since got his money back off them, but he keeps messing us about when it comes to fixing the issues that they caused. Some are quite serious. The agent and landlord don't get on and we're stuck in the middle of it.

chucknorris

If the only problem is that the water supply to the cistern that has been cut off, why not simply fill the cistern with a bucket of water from the bath/basin cold tap after the toilet has been flushed?