New Build - Heating Not Working

dranzer01

- Im in a rented flat

- The emergency credit was then rectified and I have subsequently added enough money onto it (regardless, topping it up isnt the issue, its the actual trapped air I was informed about)



I haven't asked why the flat has a prepayment meter. I am assuming they all have it in this building. Well I couldn't of got into arrears as I am the first person in this building since completion in 2020, so one can deduce these meters are running through everyone's flats (to make everything centralised and 'easier' for the end user).

plumberpaig

It's totally possible there is air in the system. I'm guessing that the property has a gas boiler and an electric hob. The heating was probably left on a timer while the property was empty and the credit in the gas meter finished (in this case the emergency credit finished) and the boiler kept trying to ignite - causing it to suck up air instead of gas, thereby causing air to get into the system instead of gas. It needs to be purged, you could do it if the hob was gas, otherwise you need a gas engineer to come and take the air out, it's a 5 min job I would say. Call the agent and give them a deadline to arrange a date with an engineer or say you'll do it yourself. The boiler will still be under warranty if there is any problem with it. 

dimbo61

Could you check with other residents of the block of flats to see if they have the same kind of meter ?
The building is 2 years old and you moved in 2 weeks ago so did anyone live in the property before you ?

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/finding-your-energy-supplier-or-network-operator

saajan_12

Who is your landlord - a private individual or a company owning the whole block, or the builder etc?
What is the "address for serving notices" listed in your tenancy agreement? 
Have you written to that address to formally report the problem? 
Has the LL sent out someone to investigate the problem as a repair issue? 
When did they say they'll be back?

All the stuff on new builds is technically irrelevant to you. It might be useful as a way to get things happening faster,  but if its not then ignore and just focus on the process for a normal tenancy, starting with the questions above. 

With rent withholding, the idea is that repair issues are part and parcel of renting - you're not guaranteed a perfect house 100% of the time, so no one's done anything wrong on the first day of the issue. HOWEVER the LL is responsible for attending to repair issues reported in writing, in a reasonable timeframe. If they fail to fulfil this obligation in a reasonable timeframe, you can start to escalate and eventually get it done and claim / deduct your costs. We're not there yet though..