No heating or hot water for a week in rented house

carolinemarie

Hi,

I’ve been without heating or hot water for a week now. I have 2 small children and am on the verge of tears. My boiler broke on last Monday night, I contacted my landlord and she sent her boiler guy round on Tuesday He decided it needed a new circuit board he ordered one 2nd hand and came to fix it on Friday, turns out he’d ordered the wrong one and has now passed the job onto to another plumber to sort. I’ve heard nothing from my landlord or either plumber since Friday. How long is a reasonable time for this problem to be fixed?
Should my landlord be doing more?

Thanks

AdrianC

Simple question: If you were owner-occupier, would it be fixed any quicker? And the answer seems to be no.

Nobody's delaying things, are they?
It failed after working hours. Somebody was there to fix it the next day. Hardly unreasonable, right?
They ordered parts that day. The parts arrived. The parts were wrong. How is your landlord going to speed that up?

The parts arrived on Friday, and were found to be wrong. You're posting at 8.04am on Tuesday.

[Deleted User]

carolinemarie wrote: »

Hi,

I’ve been without heating or hot water for a week now. I have 2 small children and am on the verge of tears. My boiler broke on last Monday night, I contacted my landlord and she sent her boiler guy round on Tuesday He decided it needed a new circuit board he ordered one 2nd hand and came to fix it on Friday, turns out he’d ordered the wrong one and has now passed the job onto to another plumber to sort. I’ve heard nothing from my landlord or either plumber since Friday. How long is a reasonable time for this problem to be fixed?
Should my landlord be doing more?

Thanks

A week isn't a long time to be without a working boiler, especially at this time of year when gas safety engineers are at their most busy. Your landlord responded quickly so I don't see what else she can do at this stage.

silvercar

Your landlord seems to be acting in a reasonable manner in getting the boiler fixed. Have you asked him if he can supply some electric heaters in the mean time?

[Deleted User]

I know its unpleasant for you but it does seem like the LL acted in actually a VERY prompt manner. The problem was with the plumber ordering the wrong part.

I have been without a working boiler for six weeks once, with a two year old and a 10 year old. If you can take them to a relatives for baths or boil water on a stove (I did all these) and bath the children together, that will suffice. A small enough child you might be able to wash in the kitchen sink (done this too but never leave them unattended, make sure you have everything you need already there before you insert child in sink lol).

Definitely ask the LL for electric heaters, even one in one room will help. They are quite good.

Like I said, not good but looks like all that can be done is being done.

AdrianC

deannatrois wrote: »

The problem was with the plumber ordering the wrong part.

Or was it with the supplier supplying the wrong part?

There's no issue with ordering used parts - in fact, used/refurb circuit boards may be all that's available if it's an older boiler. Or they may actually be upgraded to resolve a common problem.

bouicca21

Good grief, I was without heating for months last winter while a problem was being fixed. When I was a child the house was so cold that we had ice on the inside of the windows.

Wear more layers, borrow an oil filled radiator and/or heated throw. Boil a kettle and strip wash or shower at the local leisure centre.

pinkteapot

Have to agree with the others - we had the same situation in January a couple of years ago in a house we owned. It had an ancient boiler. We had an engineer out the next day, they ordered parts, those parts didn't fit, new parts had to be ordered. We were without heating for 10-12 days if I remember rightly. We borrowed electric heaters from friends and family.

Luckily we did have an immersion heater so still had hot water - are you sure you don't have one?

I do sympathise and know how miserable it is in winter. I don't think your LL can be doing anything more at this point though. Do you know when they're coming back with new parts?

AdrianC

pinkteapot wrote: »

Luckily we did have an immersion heater so still had hot water - are you sure you don't have one?

An immersion requires a cylinder, of course, and most smaller houses/flats will have a combi, so no cylinder.

<points to kettle and pan>

foxy-stoat

silvercar wrote: »

Your landlord seems to be acting in a reasonable manner in getting the boiler fixed. Have you asked him if he can supply some electric heaters in the mean time?

I dont think they are - boiler broke, tried to repair it cheaply with secondhand part probably bought from ebay but failed.

They should of come round within 24 hours, found the fault, ordered a NEW part and fitted it.

I bet if the Landlord's own boiler broke they wouldnt p1ss about repairing it cheaply.

AdrianC

foxy-stoat wrote: »

I dont think they are - boiler broke, tried to repair it cheaply with secondhand part probably bought from ebay

That's quite some assumption, with zero basis in anything we've been told.
<points back up to post #6>