Heating issues

Aeries

Hello all,

When we rented our house in 2013 there was a gas fire in the front room. When we tried to use it it didn't work, so we got in touch with the LL. LL said fire was condemned and not fit for use but this was not mentioned to us prior to signing contract, and is not mentioned in contract either. We pushed for another fire but they declined saying there was another source of heat for the room.

We left is at that as we had bigger problems to deal with. We bought a convector heater and used that, as the radiator was not heating the room sufficiently, despite us airing the system and turning the thermostat and valve up to max. Its a particular problem in the front room.

A few weeks ago we had a burst pipe in the kitchen and as we have a plumber living next door he came in to help stop the water and rectify it. I mentioned how cold we were getting in winter and he went around and looked at all the radiators in the house and said they were all too small to heat the rooms, and not sufficient.

Where do I stand on this with my landlord? Also, does anyone know of any schemes or grants where tenants can get their walls insultated? There is a ginnel between our house and next door and the wall gets freezing in winter and I think we are losing a lot of heat.

Sorry if I come across as a moaning ungrateful money grabbing tenant to all you landlords on the forum, but I have a disability and if I get cold it causes me a lot of pain. Last years bills were horrendous and I still couldn't keep warm.

G_M

* Is the gas fire disconnected properly?
* are the rads heated by a gas boiler?
* do you have a gas safety vertificate dated within the last 12 months?

See: http://news.hse.gov.uk/2010/11/30/gas-safety-advice-for-tenants/

Provided there is some form of heating, you cannot insist on a particular temperature. There is no legal minimum.

You can ask for larger rads to be installed (or a more powerful boiler though that's probobly not the issue) but the LL can refuse.

Another possible cause is sludge in the system, though your plumber mate should have spotted this. Do the rads get hot a the otp but not the bottom?

There are various insulation schemes - all would require the LL's permission. But he might be pleased if they were free!

google 'free insulation'!

HappyMJ

Aeries wrote: »

Hello all,

When we rented our house in 2013 there was a gas fire in the front room. When we tried to use it it didn't work, so we got in touch with the LL. LL said fire was condemned and not fit for use but this was not mentioned to us prior to signing contract, and is not mentioned in contract either. We pushed for another fire but they declined saying there was another source of heat for the room.

We left is at that as we had bigger problems to deal with. We bought a convector heater and used that, as the radiator was not heating the room sufficiently, despite us airing the system and turning the thermostat and valve up to max. Its a particular problem in the front room.

A few weeks ago we had a burst pipe in the kitchen and as we have a plumber living next door he came in to help stop the water and rectify it. I mentioned how cold we were getting in winter and he went around and looked at all the radiators in the house and said they were all too small to heat the rooms, and not sufficient.

Where do I stand on this with my landlord? Also, does anyone know of any schemes or grants where tenants can get their walls insultated? There is a ginnel between our house and next door and the wall gets freezing in winter and I think we are losing a lot of heat.

Sorry if I come across as a moaning ungrateful money grabbing tenant to all you landlords on the forum, but I have a disability and if I get cold it causes me a lot of pain. Last years bills were horrendous and I still couldn't keep warm.

It's not very expensive to replace a single radiator with a double radiator so it's worth asking for a price from your neighbour plumber and then asking the landlord if they would consider replacing the radiator with a larger one.

There is guidelines on sizes of radiators for rooms which your neighbour plumber should know but no actual law requiring them to be sized larger than the guidelines.

If you're staying long term you might want to consider installing your own high efficiency gas fire. Might cost quite a bit though but worth considering for that extra bit of heat.

If you've got an easily accessible gas pipe outlet in the living room you could install a flueless gas fire if you've got enough ventilation which don't cost much to run and you can take the fire with you when you leave. You need to of course get this professionally installed and checked.

As said google free insulation.

mgarl10024

Aeries wrote: »

Sorry if I come across as a moaning ungrateful money grabbing tenant to all you landlords on the forum, but I have a disability and if I get cold it causes me a lot of pain. Last years bills were horrendous and I still couldn't keep warm.

Felt a bit unnecessary.

Aeries

Hi everyone thanks for the help so far. The radiators in the house are all single panel radiators that are about 18" high and vary in length. Its not a massive house, its ex council 3 bed. There is no sludge in the system the rads heat evenly. Our landlord is actually a plumber himself so surely he should have known these tiny radiators were not up to the job?

The gas fire in the front room just needs a new circuit board, we had it tested by our plumber friend next door but the LL still won't budge on the matter as there is no glass screen on the fire and we have a 5 year old (A concern which I do appreciate, but we are capable of buying a fireguard)

Aeries

Ps, I forgot to add, we've recently signed a 3 year tenancy on the property as we are happy and settled here and don't really want to have to move

Pixie5740

Is it possible the plumber is trying to generate some work by telling you that you need more radiators?

Is there an EPC for the property? Sometimes it's not down to the heating system itself but poor insulation.

HappyMJ

Aeries wrote: »

Hi everyone thanks for the help so far. The radiators in the house are all single panel radiators that are about 18" high and vary in length. Its not a massive house, its ex council 3 bed. There is no sludge in the system the rads heat evenly. Our landlord is actually a plumber himself so surely he should have known these tiny radiators were not up to the job?

The gas fire in the front room just needs a new circuit board, we had it tested by our plumber friend next door but the LL still won't budge on the matter as there is no glass screen on the fire and we have a 5 year old (A concern which I do appreciate, but we are capable of buying a fireguard)

You could fix this at your own cost if you wanted to. How much is a new circuit board? It's not an old fire with a back boiler is it? That might explain why it's been disconnected which would have happened when the new boiler was installed.

If you're going to be there for at least the next 3 years then I'd consider spending some money on proper decent heating if the landlord is not going to. How much are you willing to spend? £540 should just about do it divided out over 3 years is about £15 per month. You could even offer an extra £20-£25 on the monthly rent if the landlord pays for it upfront.

Aeries

Hi HappyMj thanks for the advice, its a fairly modern hole in the wall fire, my husbands good with electronics he's a computer technician so he could put the circuit board on himself to save buying a new fire, and then we'd just need authority to get the LL to switch on again, but he doesn't like this idea.

We could propose about putting the new radiators on and tagging the costs onto the rent and see what he says about that, its a really good idea. We can';t really afford that amount upfront ourselves though, and if you think of it, if we were served notice it would put a big dent in our pocket.

G_M

Aeries wrote: »

The gas fire in the front room just needs a new circuit board, we had it tested by our plumber friend next door but the LL still won't budge on the matter as there is no glass screen on the fire and we have a 5 year old (A concern which I do appreciate, but we are capable of buying a fireguard)

You've not answered the Qs about the GSC. If the gas fire is still connected it should be included on the annual report. What does the report say?

Is the 'plumber' next door a GasSafe registered engineer? If not, he should not be testing it (and you should not be letting him, or relying on him).

Aeries

G_M wrote: »

You've not answered the Qs about the GSC. If the gas fire is still connected it should be included on the annual report. What does the report say?

Is the 'plumber' next door a GasSafe registered engineer? If not, he should not be testing it (and you should not be letting him, or relying on him).

Hi, the gas safety check is done annually, our LL is a plumber with a firm of his own so he sends one of his employees to do it. As the fires been sealed off I don't think that was tested should it have been?

And yes, our friend next door is gas safe certified, he also has his own firm and he's a lot friendlier than our landlord. Who I cannot work out why is being so difficult we've been here 18 months we have never missed a rent payment or been late, and we've spent a lot of time and money getting the place aesthetically nice, especially the gardens it was a right state when we moved in. I just don't get why he won't sort out the fire or stick a bigger radiator in, he;s a plumber, how difficult and costly can that be?