Landlord controls heating and bans portable heaters

missbiggles1

squeeks wrote: »

Start collecting PC's and set them to munching through bit coin or seti calculations. They will kick out a couple of hundred watts of heat a piece and doesn't violate the house rules.

Ideally get an oil filled radiator. None of the risks associated with electric bar or fan heaters. Another alternative is IR panels. You can get some which double as mirrors as well.

The rule about no electric heaters will be to do with the cost of running them when electricity is included, not because of any safety worries. Oil filled radiators cost as much to run as any other electric heater.

thesaint

missbiggles1 wrote: »

The rule about no electric heaters will be to do with the cost of running them when electricity is included, not because of any safety worries. Oil filled radiators cost as much to run as any other electric heater.

Exactly this^^^

I manage a few house shares, and we prohibit portable electric heaters, because you get every tenant that then has their heating on 24 hours a day, and regulates the heat by opening a window.

Of course it still happens, and we then take steps, which will ultimately end in them finding themselves a new home.

In the last refurb we did, each room has a sub meter, and each tenant pays for their own personal heating and lighting.

G_M

So what can you do? There are various things, but ultimately my advice would be to find somewhere else to live, which suits you better, and which will not result in conflict and argument.

1) your deposit.
Yes - if it is refundable at the end, it's a deposit. As it is not registered you could
* do nothing - you cannot be served a valid S21 so cannot be evicted. You're 'safe'!
* demand he register it - and hae an arguement ("It's not a deposit" " Yes it is")
* sue for the penalty
* wait and sue later
* threaten to sue unless........
Deposits: payment, protection and return

2) ignore the LL and get an electric heater. The LL cannot serve you a S21 notice.....
But you'll have conflict....

3) HMO
* check with the council whether the property should be registered
* threaten to go to the council unless.....

4) terms of the contract
* you have a verbal contract (£X pm in return for a room) & a tenancy.
* The landlord cannot change the terms without your agreement once the contract is agreed
* so telling you later about the 'no electric heaters' rules is invalid
* however the difficulty with verbal contracts is 'proof'. The LL could claim he told you this rule at the time you agreed the contract. His word against yours.
* assuming all utility bills are included in the rent, it is quite common for there to be a rule about use of gas/electric etc
* if fire risk is the reason for no electic heaters, get an oil-filled electric heater - there is no fire risk

squeeks

It could be something as simple as the radiators need balancing and the OP has one that doesn't work....

If I was going to be cold, having paid for the house to be heated I would be more than a little disappointed with the living arrangements.

If the landlord isn't in the house grab a cold pack from the freezer and stick it over the thermostat.

Other alternatives are to involve lots of people over - the more bodies in a house, the hotter it gets...

Candles as mentioned chuck out a surprising amount of heat especially if you have a dozen or so - but doesn't help with the fire risk.

Open your door a little more often can also help, especially if your radiator is a little bit poor.

Don't rule out the extra PC or two option either. You should be able to find something around 130 - 150W https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_CPU_power_dissipation_figures
Or throw in a couple of graphics cards
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/charts/2015-vga-charts/24-Power-Consumption-Maximum,3687.html. and you could put together a 500W heater without too much trouble.

moneyistooshorttomention

As we're going in for "creative thinking" - then I'll throw into the mix that I believe there are the sort of personally wearable throws that can be plugged into a powerpoint and warm up. Sorta like a portable electric blanket. There is the obvious point they are cumbersome and unattractive to wear - but, if needs must, I guess. They warm up - but they aren't a "fire".

macman

I cannot see that a verbal order not to use electric heaters, given after the OP moved in, could possibly be enforceable. What other arbitrary instruction might the LL choose to issue? No eating of cheese after 6pm maybe? As suggested above, this is to do with his leccy bill, not fire safety. A plug in electric heater is not a hazard in itself unless the wiring is inadequate, which of course it may well be in an HMO done on the cheap.
Despite the absence of a tenancy agreement, the OP appears to have a tenancy and an unprotected deposit, so I would plug in whatever heating he wants. If the LL objects, mention that he has failed to protect the deposit and a claim may be made for three times the value...that should focus his attention on sorting out the heating.
And I would not be at all surprised to hear that the OP was never given a gas safety certificate either, if there is a gas CH system.

AdrianC

captainjon wrote: »

Aside from the wear jumpers comments, do i have a legal recourse here?

Yes, you do.

Move.

captainjon

Assuming hes breaking the law by

Not being hmo registered
Not providing his address
Deposit not protected

As well as

Asking for rent on the last month when its already paid
Not meeting his heating obligations properly,

Why cant i walk away and sue him for 2 months rent paid upfront?

Hes not licenced to offer a tenancy agreement, it must be void?

captainjon

G_M wrote: »

So what can you do? There are various things, but ultimately my advice would be to find somewhere else to live, which suits you better, and which will not result in conflict and argument.

1) your deposit.
Yes - if it is refundable at the end, it's a deposit. As it is not registered you could
* do nothing - you cannot be served a valid S21 so cannot be evicted. You're 'safe'!
* demand he register it - and hae an arguement ("It's not a deposit" " Yes it is")
* sue for the penalty
* wait and sue later
* threaten to sue unless........
Deposits: payment, protection and return

2) ignore the LL and get an electric heater. The LL cannot serve you a S21 notice.....
But you'll have conflict....

3) HMO
* check with the council whether the property should be registered
* threaten to go to the council unless.....

4) terms of the contract
* you have a verbal contract (£X pm in return for a room) & a tenancy.
* The landlord cannot change the terms without your agreement once the contract is agreed
* so telling you later about the 'no electric heaters' rules is invalid
* however the difficulty with verbal contracts is 'proof'. The LL could claim he told you this rule at the time you agreed the contract. His word against yours.
* assuming all utility bills are included in the rent, it is quite common for there to be a rule about use of gas/electric etc
* if fire risk is the reason for no electic heaters, get an oil-filled electric heater - there is no fire risk

Id prefer to walk away if i could get my 2 months rent back, even 1. Having him around maybe daily with this agro isnt what i need

Guest101

captainjon wrote: »

Id prefer to walk away if i could get my 2 months rent back, even 1. Having him around maybe daily with this agro isnt what i need

You can walk away if you can convince a judge that the tenancy was for 1 / 2 months.