Renting Without A Working Boiler - Advice Needed

deannagone

I take on board that this is miserable for you.  BUT the points already made that even if you owned the house, it can still be almost impossible to get a boiler fixed within 24 hours, even less so if parts are needed.  You know its an old boiler, presumably you spotted that when you viewed?  I lived in a house with an old boiler, parts actually had to be made for it, I was without hot water and heating for well over 6 weeks even though I had two young children.  I had to go to a friends to bath them.  Its just the way it is, I'm afraid.  

I also am a fleece addict lol.  I have a thick fleece dressing gown, fleece blankets.  I think with bills going up its best to be less dependent on central heating.  I grew up as did most people in the country without it and am far warmer now with fleece things (70's.  Another age lol). My gas bill (for heating and hot water) right now is under £40 a month lol.  God knows what it will be in April. 

This may or may not comfort you https://www.healthline.com/health/does-cold-weather-make-you-sick#asthmatics .  If your partner is seriously ill as you said, I hope you have phoned a GP (yep I know its not easy to get an appt but its what you have to do) or gone to a hospital.

Hot water bottles are comforting in bed if its cold outside (get ones with a cover though).  You can also get heated blankets/wraps which are far cheaper to run than a convector heater.  

comeandgo

You state your electricity use has increased but your oil usage will have decreased so the daily cost will be reduced by that.  Do you have a bucket?  You can get the bucket of water at shower temp and wash in the shower.  

lookstraightahead

Strange how tenants have to go without for so long, yet as soon as there's a power cut home owners are up in arms.

op, we've just bought an old house and we too had to buy heaters. They are expensive to run and you shouldn't have to pour a bucket of shower warm water over your head 🙄.

Maybe go and knock on the owners door and ask to use their shower (joking but more realistic than some comments).

I had an excellent landlord when renting who just gave me the number of the plumber, electrician etc. when I was a landlord years ago I dealt with things promptly. 

Personally I would keep badgering, just like home owners do when something goes wrong.

canaldumidi

lookstraightahead said:

Personally I would keep badgering, just like home owners do when something goes wrong.

As a home owner, I'd love to know exactly who I'm supposed or able to 'badger'. Sure I can hassle my OFTEC heating engineer, but if he's busy or has to wait for the parts, badgering him won't make any difference.

canaldumidi

lozza97 said:

Thank you for all of your replies.

I was reading this 
Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 states that repairs should be carried out in a ‘reasonable time’. Emergency repairs should be fixed within 24 hours as having no hot water or heating constitutes a hazard under the law

S11 of the Act is here. It does not mention repairs being fixed within 24 hours. Are you getting confused with:

 there is also implied a covenant by the lessee that the lessor, or any person authorised by him in writing, may at reasonable times of the day and on giving 24 hours’ notice in writing to the occupier, enter the premises comprised in the lease for the purpose of viewing their condition and state of repair.

It also states in our contract that emergency repairs should be done within 24 hours.

I'm amazed that any LL would commit themselves to that contractually, since many emergeny repairs will be outside their control. What is the exact wording?

lincroft1710

canaldumidi said:

lozza97 said:

Thank you for all of your replies.

I was reading this 
Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 states that repairs should be carried out in a ‘reasonable time’. Emergency repairs should be fixed within 24 hours as having no hot water or heating constitutes a hazard under the law

S11 of the Act is here. It does not mention repairs being fixed within 24 hours. Are you getting confused with:

 there is also implied a covenant by the lessee that the lessor, or any person authorised by him in writing, may at reasonable times of the day and on giving 24 hours’ notice in writing to the occupier, enter the premises comprised in the lease for the purpose of viewing their condition and state of repair.

It also states in our contract that emergency repairs should be done within 24 hours.

I'm amazed that any LL would commit themselves to that contractually, since many emergeny repairs will be outside their control. What is the exact wording?

I agree with c-d-m.


A landlord may be able to get a relevant tradesman to look at the problem within 24 hours but for very obvious reasons couldn't guarantee an effective repair within that timescale.

Marshaltown

Lozza just report the situation to the Environmental Health Department of your Local Authority. That should speed things up.

Ms_Chocaholic

As a home owner, when our boiler went on the blink we purchased a camping shower which we filled with warm water (a mixture of boiling water from the kettle and cold water) and used that to shower, it was pretty hopeless to tell the truth but at least we could have some sort of shower and wash our hair and it would save driving an hour each way to your parents.  Surely there must be somewhere closer you can shower, have you asked at the local swimming pool/gym if you can use there's, even for a small fee.

Ms_Chocaholic

You say your partner is seriously ill with flu; I'm sorry to hear that but we've learnt a lot as a result of the Covid pandemic, flu is a respiratory disease is it not, if he was ill with the cold it would be pneumonia he had.

Alderbank

It also states in our contract that emergency repairs should be done within 24 hours.

I'm amazed that any LL would commit themselves to that contractually, since many emergeny repairs will be outside their control. What is the exact wording?

Legally there is a world of difference between 'should' and 'must'.