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really need advise - renting three bed, no loft insulation?

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i'm new to the forum so bear with me...

we rented a three bed house, which has an attic conversion. the property is advertised as a three bedroom house, it's not modern..

my 4 year old son sleeps in the bedroom and we noticed that it was freezing cold. bled the radiator. my dad told us to check that the loft had been insulated... low and behold it hasn't. it is plasterboard internally, then wooden beams then roof tiles (which have holes in..)

my main question is really, what can we do about this? the room is freezing cold and drops to what i can imagine being quite low temperatures. we're not even in the dead of winter yet.

we rent the property through a letting agent who we have contacted this afternoon, we have also contacted the council who said environmental health will be in touch with us within three working days. this is not the only issue that we have had with this property.

is this a legal requirement? is there anything we can do with regards to witholding the rent until the issue is resolved? is this even an issue and is there even anything we can do about it? my dad seems to think that the building work shouldn't have been signed off because it should be insulated if it's being advertised as a three bedroom house... any advise would be greatly appreciated!! :(
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Comments

  • Pixie5740
    Pixie5740 Posts: 14,515 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Eighth Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic
    Don't go withholding rent, that's a sure fired way to get you and your family evicted.

    By law, your landlord has a number of repairing responsibilities, including repairing and keeping in working order:-

    the structure and exterior of the premises, including drains, gutters and external pipes
    the water and gas pipes and electric wiring (including, for example, taps and sockets)
    the basins, sinks, baths and toilets
    fixed heaters (for example, gas fires) and water heaters.

    Have a read through Shelter's guide to repairs in private rentals.

    http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/repairs_in_private_lets/reporting_repairs_to_a_landlord

    Step 1, write to the LL about any repairs that are required.

    I'm not sur about the loft insulation but I do remember hearing an advert on the radio the other day from British Gas offering free loft insulation to people (either homeowners or tenants) and you don't even have to be a BG customer.
  • yes i've just checked the eligibilty for the free insulation and we do qualify but i'm a bit dubious about giving them a call until we know what the landlords going to do.. our letting agent have said they are going to contact the landlord so i guess it's just a waiting game. in the mean time i'm not too sure what to do with my son... my daughters bedroom is too small to house both of them. three in the bed...
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,323 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 8 October 2014 at 4:52PM
    I was in the same situation.., three bed rental, two bedrooms without any insulation except for lots of chimney removal rubble (bricks and dust). Obviously we didn't notice how cold the bedrooms were until it was winter. LL refused to help. So I got insulation for £1 a roll (£15), removed the rubble (did other things as well so consider yourself lucky), put in more than required amount of insulation (making sure there was a gap for air flow under the eaves etc).

    Instant warmth upstairs.

    Its up to you. You can sit there arguing with the LL over who does what, while your kids freeze or just do it yourself because its quicker and you'll know its done properly.

    Sometimes being in the right just isn't worth the hassle.., and I'm afraid some LL's play on this.

    I just hope and pray my LL gets karma for the games he plays and I'm watching.., but its unlikely.
  • as far as i'm aware we're entitled to free loft insulation so i'm going to give that a go if we don't get anywhere. like you said, it's my children who suffer in the long run, not anybody else. just hate how the rental market is becoming.. i've rented for 9 years in different properties now and it's just not the way it used to be. :/
  • stator
    stator Posts: 7,441 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    I do not believe there is any legal obligation on your landlords.
    If you want to get it fitted you will need his permission, I can't think of any sensible reason he would refuse but some might.
    Depending on your personal status a lot of energy companies might do the loft insulation for free. British Gas seem to be doing some upgrades free for everyone, so that looks promising.
    Changing the world, one sarcastic comment at a time.
  • jbainbridge
    jbainbridge Posts: 2,027 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Any offer of free insulation will involve the supplier coming and putting it in an empty loft. From what you say it is the room in the loft that is uninsulated? Any insulation should have been put in during the building work - adding it now will be very difficult. Sorry.
  • yeah it's a finished room. :( i've called british gas and they said that because it's solid brick they wouldn't be able to do it anyway. does that sound right..
  • WestonDave
    WestonDave Posts: 5,154 Forumite
    Rampant Recycler
    Retro fitting loft insulation after the loft has been plasterboarded is going to involve removing all the plaster board and reinstating it (and redecorating) which isn't going to be free with British Gas or anyone else.
    Adventure before Dementia!
  • Errata
    Errata Posts: 38,230 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    it is plasterboard internally, then wooden beams then roof tiles (which have holes in..)
    Ask the LL to repair the roof before the winter gales, rain and snow starts.
    .................:)....I'm smiling because I have no idea what's going on ...:)
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,323 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 8 October 2014 at 5:22PM
    As you have inspected the loft to see that there is no insulation, I assume you can get into the loft to lay insulation rolls as we did? My smaller son's bedroom attic was enclosed (like a gable with its own enclosed roof space) so we did have to make a hole in the ceiling and put in a new ceiling because there was an additional problem as well - but hopefully you won't have to do all that. We did manage to get the LL to play for the plasterboard but we paid for everything else and did the work. But my son can now sleep in the bedroom thank goodness.

    The solid brick walls need only applies if you want cavity wall insulation (which can cause as many problems as it solves so I didn't go this route.., google cavity wall insulation problems).

    Just find out the cheapest way for you to buy/obtain insulation rolls and install them yourselves. You may be able to get one of the energy companies to do it for you if you have nothing in the loft (like rubble, past tenant storage items etc) but you can always do it yourself.
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