Advice for a family renting via estate agents, who have had no drinking water for nearly two weeks.

TG_2021

Hi everyone.

On 6th July my wife realised our kitchen tap had no cold water coming out of it, only hot. It's one of those single faucet, lift and turn one way for hot and the other way for cold types. We quickly realised that this meant we didn't have any clean drinking water so I emailed our estate agents, who in turn contacted the landlord.

After three days of having to boil water to drink and buying big bottles of water from the supermarket the landlord sent a plumber round. He looked at it and said we needed a new tap and that he would see us soon. We heard nothing from him so I emailed the estate agent again on 12th July, who in turn contacted the landlord. 
We received a WhatsApp message on 13th July from the landlord telling us she wasn't happy that we emailed the estate agents again and that we should only go through her. We thought this was a bit off but we politely replied just asking if she had an idea on when the plumber was coming back? On 16th July the plumber texted my wife saying he was coming to fix it on 19th July (today).

So far we have heard nothing from the plumber so I was wondering if anyone can tell us where we stand in terms of any legal rights to do with both the estate agents and our landlord, for leaving my wife and I, our six month old baby and our four year old without clean drinking water for two weeks? And any suggestions as to what to do next in terms of contacting the estate agents again, or should we WhatsApp the landlord again or should we just get a plumber and try to charge it to the estate agents??

Many thanks in advance for anyone who can help.

user1977

Are you sure the other tap(s) don't provide clean water? Not all systems go via a pigeon-infested cistern.

theartfullodger

Write (yes, write/email) landlord (yes landlord, copy agent, keep copy) use NH Shelter's draft letter for reporting repair issues.

Then follow further advice on that Shelter page.

AdrianC

user1977 said:

Are you sure the other tap(s) don't provide clean water? Not all systems go via a pigeon-infested cistern.

Almost no properties have a cold water tank these days... Every tap is perfectly potable.

macman

I would have given a deadline to your LL days ago. A property without a potable water supply (if that is really the situation) can be considered unfit for habitation, and it is the LL's responsibility to remedy this or rehouse you until it is fixed.

TG_2021

AdrianC said:

user1977 said:

Are you sure the other tap(s) don't provide clean water? Not all systems go via a pigeon-infested cistern.

Almost no properties have a cold water tank these days... Every tap is perfectly potable.

Thanks for your replies. This was actually one of the questions we first asked the estate agents about, to which the landlord replied saying she didn't think the water from the bathroom sink was ok to drink, so we didn't want to take any chances.

steampowered

Email the landlord stating that the property is uninhabitable due to lack of drinking water, therefore she needs to get a plumber round to fix it on an urgent (same day) basis. If the property remains uninhabitable then you won't be required to continue paying rent under your tenancy agreement.

AdrianC

TG_2021 said:

AdrianC said:

user1977 said:

Are you sure the other tap(s) don't provide clean water? Not all systems go via a pigeon-infested cistern.

Almost no properties have a cold water tank these days... Every tap is perfectly potable.

Thanks for your replies. This was actually one of the questions we first asked the estate agents about, to which the landlord replied saying she didn't think the water from the bathroom sink was ok to drink, so we didn't want to take any chances.

Yes, lots of people believe that - and it used to be true, back in the days of cold water tanks. The water sat in the tank, which was open-topped or inadequately lidded in the loft. The kitchen was the only tap fed directly from the incoming supply. But, now, every tap is fed directly. The only difference is the length of the pipework.

Just pause for a moment... where do you get the water for teeth-brushing...?

wilfred30

Have you considered phoning the plumber to ask him what time he expects to come round today?

TG_2021

wilfred30 said:

Have you considered phoning the plumber to ask him what time he expects to come round today?

Yeah, I left him a voicemail then sent a gentle reminder by text just as I was posting on this forum earlier. Haven't heard back yet though.

HampshireH

Keep your receipts and get that refunded when it's all over with. It's 8L for £1.03 in Asda so whilst really inconvenient it's not a huge expense.

Seems odd that the other sink water wouldn't be drinking water. Have you looked to see if you have cold water storage?

I think I'd have messaged the plumber back when I got his text confirming what the he was coming rather than waiting till the day. But that's done now.

Fingers crossed for you he turns up. I would WhatsApp rather than text as you can see if it's been read depending on their settings.