No Hot Water - Landlord Shirking Responsibilities

HCG

I moved into a rental property on 31 August and quickly discovered that there was no hot water. The issue was finally resolved as a result of my efforts on 06 September; the landlord made no effort to assist me with the situation and instead put the responsibility to resolve the issue back on me.

I have been very calm, patient and polite about the situation until the landlord began to throw false claims around when I approached them to discuss compensation for the inconvenience.

It was clear from our conversations that they have never stepped foot in the property and bought it off the plans with the sole intention to rent; so money is the only name of this game for them.

I am very disappointed with their behaviour. I am also a landlord and have never and would never treat a tenant in such a way. I now wish I had never entered the tenancy, as if they are like this now, God knows how they may behave should another situation occur in the future. At this point I’m not after compensation, as I think that would make the relationship worse. I would actually like to exit the tenancy, as I do not want to be a tenant to such a landlord.

I’m aware that a property is classed as ‘uninhabitable’ if it does not have hot water therefore, what are my options going forward?

Side notes:

• The property is managed by the landlord and no check-in was provided by the agent or landlord;
• The agreement is an ‘Assured Shorthold Tenancy with TDS’ with a six month break clause;
• The rental cost of this apartment is £1300 pcm excluding bills and it is only I who lives there.

Some comments / replies from the Landlord:

• “It is reasonable to expect the landlord to take some time to fix the identified issue as they crop up during the course of the tenancy as this is a continuously occupied tenancy and will therefore have wear and tear” – 1) They did nothing to help identify or fix the issue and 2) Is hot water classed as ‘wear and tear’?
• “As for the hot water issue itself, the check-out report does not capture any issue with the hot water so it would wrong to infer that the property was given to you in an unusable state. The property was unoccupied for 2 weeks before you moved in – The agency have advised me that the hot water is not a part of the check-in or check-out procedures and that the apartment was vacant for a period of four weeks from 05 August to 31 August.

Thank you in advance for your time and advice.

Comms69

The short answer is - Tough. The issue is resolved.
Did you report all this by the book? - Letter, stamp, addressed to the right location, proof of posting?

gingercordial

HCG wrote: »

I moved into a rental property on 31 August and quickly discovered that there was no hot water. The issue was finally resolved as a result of my efforts on 06 September; the landlord made no effort to assist me with the situation and instead put the responsibility to resolve the issue back on me.

I have been very calm, patient and polite about the situation until the landlord began to throw false claims around when I approached them to discuss compensation for the inconvenience.

It was clear from our conversations that they have never stepped foot in the property and bought it off the plans with the sole intention to rent; so money is the only name of this game for them.

I am very disappointed with their behaviour. I am also a landlord and have never and would never treat a tenant in such a way. I now wish I had never entered the tenancy, as if they are like this now, God knows how they may behave should another situation occur in the future. At this point I’m not after compensation, as I think that would make the relationship worse. I would actually like to exit the tenancy, as I do not want to be a tenant to such a landlord.

I’m aware that a property is classed as ‘uninhabitable’ if it does not have hot water therefore, what are my options going forward?

Side notes:

• The property is managed by the landlord and no check-in was provided by the agent or landlord;
• The agreement is an ‘Assured Shorthold Tenancy with TDS’ with a six month break clause;
• The rental cost of this apartment is £1300 pcm excluding bills and it is only I who lives there.

Some comments / replies from the Landlord:

• “It is reasonable to expect the landlord to take some time to fix the identified issue as they crop up during the course of the tenancy as this is a continuously occupied tenancy and will therefore have wear and tear” – 1) They did nothing to help identify or fix the issue and 2) Is hot water classed as ‘wear and tear’?
• “As for the hot water issue itself, the check-out report does not capture any issue with the hot water so it would wrong to infer that the property was given to you in an unusable state. The property was unoccupied for 2 weeks before you moved in – The agency have advised me that the hot water is not a part of the check-in or check-out procedures and that the apartment was vacant for a period of four weeks from 05 August to 31 August.

Thank you in advance for your time and advice.

Is it really uninhabitable? People (home owners and tenants) have their boilers break down all the time. It doesn't make their houses uninhabitable, it just makes them awkward. It's possible to heat water in a kettle/saucepan for a sponge bath or shower at the gym or at work etc to cope for a week. It's annoying but not the end of the world. Hot running water inside on demand is a very recent thing to have but people managed!

You had less than a week without hot water. If you were a home owner and this happened you could easily have to wait a week for this to get fixed if a plumber wasn't available or needed to get a part. You would deal with it, grumble about it and life would go on. As a tenant you aren't entitled to have something fixed faster than a reasonable home owner would do for themselves.

It would annoy me but that is life. I'm a tenant and recently we had to have half our bathroom ripped out to deal with a pre-existing issue so no shower for a week. We coped and didn't demand a rent reduction. These things happen.

Pixie5740

HCG wrote: »

I moved into a rental property on 31 August and quickly discovered that there was no hot water. The issue was finally resolved as a result of my efforts on 06 September; the landlord made no effort to assist me with the situation and instead put the responsibility to resolve the issue back on me.

I have been very calm, patient and polite about the situation until the landlord began to throw false claims around when I approached them to discuss compensation for the inconvenience.

It was clear from our conversations that they have never stepped foot in the property and bought it off the plans with the sole intention to rent; so money is the only name of this game for them.

I am very disappointed with their behaviour. I am also a landlord and have never and would never treat a tenant in such a way. I now wish I had never entered the tenancy, as if they are like this now, God knows how they may behave should another situation occur in the future. At this point I’m not after compensation, as I think that would make the relationship worse. I would actually like to exit the tenancy, as I do not want to be a tenant to such a landlord.

I’m aware that a property is classed as ‘uninhabitable’ if it does not have hot water therefore, what are my options going forward?

Side notes:

• The property is managed by the landlord and no check-in was provided by the agent or landlord;
• The agreement is an ‘Assured Shorthold Tenancy with TDS’ with a six month break clause;
• The rental cost of this apartment is £1300 pcm excluding bills and it is only I who lives there.

Some comments / replies from the Landlord:

• “It is reasonable to expect the landlord to take some time to fix the identified issue as they crop up during the course of the tenancy as this is a continuously occupied tenancy and will therefore have wear and tear” – 1) They did nothing to help identify or fix the issue and 2) Is hot water classed as ‘wear and tear’?
• “As for the hot water issue itself, the check-out report does not capture any issue with the hot water so it would wrong to infer that the property was given to you in an unusable state. The property was unoccupied for 2 weeks before you moved in – The agency have advised me that the hot water is not a part of the check-in or check-out procedures and that the apartment was vacant for a period of four weeks from 05 August to 31 August.

Thank you in advance for your time and advice.

You might wish to exit the tenancy but legally you are liable for the rent until you can invoke the break clause. Nothing your landlord has done, or rather hasn't done, gives you the legal right to unilaterally end your tenancy early. The only way you will be able to end your tenancy early is by mutual agreement with the landlord.

A lack of hot water from the boiler does not render a property uninhabitable. Inconvenient yes, uninhabitable no. You can still boil a kettle to wash dishes and yourself. You were only without hot water from the boiler for a week that's not that long in the grand scheme of things. Your landlord just has to get things repaired in a reasonable timescale. A week without hot water is not unreasonable. There are processes for dealing with landlords who won't carry out repairs but you steamed ahead and sorted this out yourself before trying any of those processes.

I've never had an inventory where the hot water has been tested. That's not really the point of the inventory.

I'm surprised that as a landlord yourself you don't already know these things.

Before you say anything I was without hot water or heating for 6 weeks in winter in the North East of Scotland because that's how long it took to get my boiler repaired. I survived.

fairy_lights

HCG wrote: »

I’m aware that a property is classed as ‘uninhabitable’ if it does not have hot water therefore, what are my options going forward?

Is it really?
Do you have an electric shower?

FBaby

Really need more details. What do you mean by 'the issue was finally resolved as a result of my efforts on 06 September'

There is a difference between you contacting them on 1/09 reporting the problem, them saying they will get someone to come, then on 2 or 3/09, you called for feedback, they said someone would come and have a look but unfortunately it might not be until the end of the week, and you said that was too long so said you would try to get someone who could come earlier and they said that was fine. You got someone to come on the 6th and they agreed to pay, but from your perspective, you feel that they should have made more efforts to get someone themselves quicker.

Different to you contacting them on the 1st, them saying that they didn't believe you as hot water was fine when they checked the place the day before, so you went ahead and called someone who confirmed a problem that was likely to have been present for some time, but they are now refusing to reimburse you for the costs.

It's not even clear if someone actually came out or if it was a problem that you manage to sort out yourself.

doverdover

No advice for you OP, but my landlord and managing agent have never stepped foot in my house either.

They are very determined there are no issues with the property, but neither of them have ever been here.

Incredibly dysfunctional.

AdrianC

You moved in on 31st Aug - Thursday.
When did you notify the landlord?
The problem was resolved on 6th Sep - Wednesday. Four working days.

If the property is new-build, then the issue is one that the landlord would have pushed to the developer to fix. It shouldn't have happened - it should have been picked up at handover. These things do happen.

What was the cause, btw? Was it a failure of a part, poor workmanship, or what?

saajan_12

HCG wrote: »

I moved into a rental property on 31 August and quickly discovered that there was no hot water. The issue was finally resolved as a result of my efforts on 06 September; the landlord made no effort to assist me with the situation and instead put the responsibility to resolve the issue back on me.- okay so it was resolved in 4 working days which is reasonable. Who did it isn't really relevant.


I have been very calm, patient and polite about the situation until the landlord began to throw false claims around when I approached them to discuss compensation for the inconvenience. - Why would compensation be due, you haven't explained the actual cause of the problem but things happen and the lack of hot water wasn't for a particularly extended time.

It was clear from our conversations that they have never stepped foot in the property and bought it off the plans with the sole intention to rent; so money is the only name of this game for them. - so? this is their business,
as long as the LL fulfills all their legal responsibilities they don't have to love anything but the profit.

I am very disappointed with their behaviour. I am also a landlord and have never and would never treat a tenant in such a way. I now wish I had never entered the tenancy, as if they are like this now, God knows how they may behave should another situation occur in the future. At this point I’m not after compensation, as I think that would make the relationship worse. I would actually like to exit the tenancy, as I do not want to be a tenant to such a landlord. - okay,
but there is a cost to that, namely the remaining rent of the fixed term or whatever mutual surrender agreement you can come up with.

I’m aware that a property is classed as ‘uninhabitable’ if it does not have hot water therefore, what are my options going forward?
- A. was there running water and a hob? Then there was potential for hot water and it wasn't uninhabitable.
- B. the property is now habitable, so no further recourse due.


Side notes:

• The property is managed by the landlord and no check-in was provided by the agent or landlord; - okay, that might have an impact on deposit deductions (though they may have an inventory which can be verified without you). Either way irrelevant right now.
  
• The agreement is an ‘Assured Shorthold Tenancy with TDS’ with a six month break clause; - okay, so the earliest you can insist on terminating is per the break clause
• The rental cost of this apartment is £1300 pcm excluding bills and it is only I who lives there. - ok, but irrelevant.
  

Some comments / replies from the Landlord:

• “It is reasonable to expect the landlord to take some time to fix the identified issue as they crop up during the course of the tenancy as this is a continuously occupied tenancy and will therefore have wear and tear” – 1) They did nothing to help identify or fix the issue and 2) Is hot water classed as ‘wear and tear’? - I suspect they mean 'things happen' due to natural wear of the pipes/boiler/whatever so it wasn't necessarily a forseeable fault.
• “As for the hot water issue itself, the check-out report does not capture any issue with the hot water so it would wrong to infer that the property was given to you in an unusable state. The property was unoccupied for 2 weeks before you moved in – The agency have advised me that the hot water is not a part of the check-in or check-out procedures and that the apartment was vacant for a period of four weeks from 05 August to 31 August.- what's your point?
  The exact period of vacancy is irrelevant, indeed hot water testing is usually not part of the inventory / check in and not something they're typically expected to check so they would only know when someone complains, which you did.. all good.

Thank you in advance for your time and advice.

The issue is now resolved so no grounds to terminate.
It took a reasonable amount of time so no compensation.

Stop worrying about the exact comments from the LL / agent, you're arguing over nothing. Either negotiate an early surrender with the LL (double they'd be too pleased after less than a month though, so will likely want a good few months rent / all reletting costs) or wait until the break clause kicks in.

lincroft1710

My god!!!! My parents and I lived in an "uninhabitable" house for 12 years!! As did all of 50 or so neighbours. We had no hot water, except for that we boiled in a kettle. I don't know how anyone survived the 1950s/60s!