Appropriate compensation for no hot water and central heating

Simon70

Hi everyone,

We live in a very nice shared flat. However, two weeks ago the boiler stopped working. The agency has been sending workmen to fix it. First it had a new thermostat installed which gave us central heating for a few hours then the boiler failed and hasn’t been working since. Apparently it needs rewiring. I saw a workman come on Friday evening saying that it would be sorted by Saturday morning but no one came. What, if any, compensation are we entitled to as a percentage of the rent over the period that it has been broken? I understand that owner occupiers can face these problems too but two weeks seems like a long time to fix a boiler? Thanks in advance for your replies! Simon

Pixie5740

Simon70 wrote: »

Hi everyone,

We live in a very nice shared flat. However, two weeks ago the boiler stopped working. The agency has been sending workmen to fix it. First it had a new thermostat installed which gave us central heating for a few hours then the boiler failed and hasn’t been working since. Apparently it needs rewiring. I saw a workman come on Friday evening saying that it would be sorted by Saturday morning but no one came. What, if any, compensation are we entitled to as a percentage of the rent over the period that it has been broken? I understand that owner occupiers can face these problems too but two weeks seems like a long time to fix a boiler? Thanks in advance for your replies! Simon

Diddly squat, that's what you're entitled to in terms of compensation.

The landlord has to carry out repairs in a reasonable time frame and it appears your landlord is doing exactly that. Two weeks is nothing in terms of getting a boiler repaired especially at this time of year.

danlewi2

Sadly have too agree with Pixie - they may offer a gesture if you purchase/hire electric heaters in the interim but they are not bound to provide anything.

lookstraightahead

Nope nothing. The only thing I suppose you can do is ask for very regular updates so that the landlord doesn't become complacent in the warmth.

Herbalus

Sounds like they have been trying to attempt a repair and then found it hasn’t worked or there is a problem with another appliance.

2 weeks isn’t unreasonable in those circumstances. And yes assuming the landlord is acting reasonably and trying to resolve (much like a home owner), then the compensation is the same as what you get as a homeowner.

lookstraightahead

mrginge wrote: »

#compo
#jackshit

Lol. Don't mince your words

Simon70

Hi, I just want to thank everyone who has replied so far - it’s pretty unanimous!

lookstraightahead

It's not fair imo, but it is correct. I would keep chasing though, asking for regular updates.

AlexMac

Might be worth an appeal to the LL via the agent (who will try to brush you off!)
As a LL who values tenants, I've bunged people compensation in similar circs; after all, it's tax-deductible, so I'm getting 20% back from HMRC in effect. I even had a really ace longstanding tenant who was an energy efficiency consultant, lol, and I bunged him a few quid refund in winter months on the strenghth of a well-argued case that the metal Crittal windows (since replaced) were disasterously cold and leaked heat.

But then I virtually never get any voids or renewal fees as tenants stay for years if you treat 'em righ; maybe your LL hasn't worked that out.

Anyway, gotta get me big coat on, as the boiler's bust in me rental flat (I kid you not) so the engineer is coming at 3.30 for the THIRD time to try to fic it- but it is 10-15 years old so it might be a lost cause. Brr and Grr

System

Simon70 wrote: »

Hi, I just want to thank everyone who has replied so far - it’s pretty unanimous!

The problem is that people misunderstand what reasonable time means. To most they think it means must be fixed immediately or within a couple of days. In fact it means what would be a reasonable time to do the repairs and that means that depending on time of year and whether a fault uncovers more work or requires waiting for a part to be supplied then this can be weeks.

Basically if a landlord is doing it in the same timescale that someone who owned their own property and had contacted a repairer took to get the issue fixed as soon as they were aware of it then the landlord is doing nothing wrong. If however you tell them and they drag their feet sending someone out to look then that is a different matter.

If you don't think they're doing it in a timely fashion you are entitled to employ someone yourself to do the repairs out of your own pocket and recover that from the landlord however the landlord can challenge that in court.

System

AlexMac wrote: »

I even had a really ace longstanding tenant who was an energy efficiency consultant, lol, and I bunged him a few quid refund in winter months on the strenghth of a well-argued case that the metal Crittal windows (since replaced) were disasterously cold and leaked heat.

You weren't obliged to do that and the tenant knew what the windows were when they signed the rental agreement. He could provide the best argument he wanted but was not eligible for compensation.