Cold student room when rest of the house is fine

b2b2

I'm a student doing a postgraduate course in England for the first time. I have just moved into an 8 bedroom student house, there is the main house and then an extension either side which adds 3 bedrooms to the property (basically the landlord trying to fit in as many people as possible). I unfortunately ended up with one of these extension rooms, which looks lovely, is bright and well furnished so no problem there. However, they are obviously very badly built because they are FREEZING compared to the main house, the temperature drop from walking from the living room (main house) into my bedroom is ridiculous, it is effectively like walking outside. Even when we have the heating on (thankfully none of the other students are stingy and are happy for me to put the heating on more because of the cold in my room) the room never truly warms up and as soon as the heating is off the room is freezing straight away. The property has an EPC rating of D but I'm not sure if this is applied only to the main house or the extensions as well because there is a clear difference that everyone can feel when they walk into the extension bedrooms. I have ordered a room thermometer to attempt to evidence the temperature disparities but I am wondering if anyone can give me any advice on how to build my case? It is not even October yet so I am very worried about the rest of the winter and how I am possibly going to cope! 

Vestraun

Can you not just buy a plug in heater for your room?

oldbikebloke

what is the method of heating the room? Is it a (water filled) radiator? If yes, when you put your hand to the top of it is that the same heat as at the bottom? The radiator may simply need bleeding.

In terms of "building your case" what outcome are you seeking?
- Demolish and rebuild the extension?
- Line the walls with extra insulation? (how many days are you willing to be moved out of your room for whilst the work is done)
- Reduce your rent in "compensation"? 

There is no legally enforced minimum internal temperature for a room, even in student rental. If you are cold, put on a jumper, or more usefully, buy a heater since your co-habitees appear willing to share paying the extra running costs 

ChloeManoey

Oh gosh, I feel for you I'm not really sure there is much you can do though, in terms of landlord action. Definitely recommend buying a heater for the room though. We had a bedroom like that in my student house and it was very damp too. Any moisture in the house condensed in that room as it was the coldest place, it made everything in there very damp. Landlord did install an air brick which seemed to help with the damp, but probably not with the temp! So that could be an idea if you find this issue. Where is the radiator placed in the room? Sometimes that doesn't help matters but not an easy one to fix! 

dimbo61

First check the radiator as it might simply need bleeding with the small valve at the top of the rad needing to be opened for a few seconds to allow the trapped air to escape.
If you can get hold of a bleed key and listen for a hissing sound when opened before water trickles out.
69 pence from Screwfix !

xylophone

https://www.aransweatermarket.com/kerry-wool-socks
Some good wool house socks
and a heated throw?
https://www.lakeland.co.uk/25781/Velvety-Electric-Heated-Throw-Grey-120-x-160cm-16447?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIt-bDi6OJ7AIVis_tCh1oBw5rEAQYASABEgLiKfD_BwE&src=gfeed&s_kwcid=AL!49!3!456457690750!!!g!!&ef_id=EAIaIQobChMIt-bDi6OJ7AIVis_tCh1oBw5rEAQYASABEgLiKfD_BwE:G:s

dimbo61

Report in writing to the Landlord and Lettings agents.
Don't call them 
Put it in writing.
If this is an 8 bed house it's also a HMO so licensed by the local council.
What does it say on the EPC ?
When was it done ?
When did the extension get built ?
Have you checked on the planning portal if the LL got planning permission to build what you can see ?
Is the property licensed as a 8 bed HMO ?
Speak to the university accomodation office or officer ? 
Get a thermometer for your room and the house.
Warm duvet for the winter and maybe electric blanket.

greatcrested

1) how is the house & room heated? Boiler running hot water to radiators?

2) how big is the radiator in your room? Is it a single or double radiator? How big is the room?

3) is the radiator the same temperature at top and bottom? If cold at the top, there's air in it - needs bleeding. If cold at the bottom, proably sludge- system needs flushing.

4) Does the radiator take ages to heat up compared to other rads in the house? It may be the last rad in a long pipe, and boiler struggles to pump hot water that distance. All the radiators may need 'balancing'.

5) are utility bills included in the rent? If yes, buy an electric heater. If no, same advice but you & your housemates will have bigger electricy bills!

Some of the above solutions you can do (bleeding), some will need the landlord to get a plumber to do (balancing, flushing, change to bigger radiator) but not too expensive.

SaintJudy

I went through this as a student and also in my current rental before the landlord upped his game and had it properly insulated, it's miserable to live somewhere cold. Unfortunately I'm not sure there's much you can do other than get yourself extra heaters in your room. Oil filled radiators are a good idea because you can leave them on while you're out so they'll take the chill off the room. Convector heaters will warm the room up quickly while you're in it. A heated blanket is worth it's weight in gold too!

theoretica

Lots of bedding and good old fashioned hot water bottle over night.  Electric heaters may not be too bad on the bill in total as you will just be heating those rooms, rather than turning the heating on more for the whole house.  Also - counterintuitively - ventilation.  Air the room when it is cold and dry outside change the wet indoors air for dry outdoors air and when it heats up it will feel warmer and less condensation.

Blue_bell_20

I was just about to suggest an electric blanket- works wonders in keeping you warm and also quite cheap to run. I’ve lived in a few cold bedrooms/even whole accommodations before. The best purchase I ever bought. 

Electric heaters will likely heat up the room, but they do run up the electric bill and it can be quite expensive. Also when you turn it off it’ll likely lose the heat.

 I would suggest using the central heating (since your housemates are fine with this) and buy an electric blanket to take the edge off.