Can I claim rent reduction due to excessive building noise and landlord’s misrepresentation ??

Mr.Generous

The R/H pic is a valve with  the head missing. Turn it off with a spanner / wrench by turning clockwise until tight. If the rad still gets warm turn a bit more.

Massive problem solved.

ARenter

Ummm... yep somehow I don't think I'm going to start messing about with the radiator. The landlord was insistent that it can't be turned off.

Bendy_House

ARenter said:

Ummm... yep somehow I don't think I'm going to start messing about with the radiator. The landlord was insistent that it can't be turned off.

It can, and it's best done via that RH valve. Your LL was wrong to suggest that older flats have permanently-on heating - that's just nuts.

If you want to turn off that rad, or - I imagine - just turn it down a bit in winter, then clean up around the spindle first, get a wee spanner to fit the 'square' head, and turn it clockwise as said before. Note where the spindle is before you start, so you can always return it to that position if needed - how many full and part-turns.

Or, just drape some towels or a small duvet over it (I know that's a pants solution).

Or, get a rad cover like these, but first cover the inside with cardboard to block all the vents - this should dramatically reduce its output - and look good. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393945939363?hash=item5bb901fda3:g:reQAAOSwOh9iEIsd

As for the noise, I'm afraid my take on that is that - whilst obviously hugely unpleasant - it is unavoidable, and I'm not sure what you expect the LL to do about it - not have repairs carried out? And the decision to work from home is one that you have made. I take it it isn't compulsory; you could commute?

Have you considered noise-cancelling headphones/earphones?

By all means explain how difficult/near-impossible it is to work from home to your LL, and ask for some rent reduction, but I think you'd struggle with any actual claim - just a request.

Exodi

ARenter said:

Ummm... yep somehow I don't think I'm going to start messing about with the radiator. The landlord was insistent that it can't be turned off.

Oh well if the landlord was insistent then I guess that's that.

By chance I actually had a similar situation in my last place - blasted lights couldn't be turned off. Visitors would sometimes come round and point out to me that I could just use the light switch to turn them off but I don't think I'm going to start messing about with the lights. The landlord was insistent that they can't be turned off.

I know some people can be intimidated by anything DIY-related, but closing the radiator valve? You're hardly being advised to take the radiator off the wall.

ARenter

Well I spoke with the l/l and he sent a one sentence reply - 'you can move with 1 months notice'. He ignored the issue of rent reduction. 

So looks like I'm going to start looking for a new place. I also have no confidence that the l/l will fix the radiator before winter and I'm certainly not doing it myself or paying someone else to.

The issue is not the noise per se, but the fact that I as not told that such extensive works would be carried when I signed the lease nor have I have been offered a reduction in the rent to compensate. The recent case Timothy Taylor Ltd v Mayfair House Corporation and another (2016) confirmed that this should occur.

Yes I could communicate - and spend 4 hours and £60+ on trains.

Just yet another scumbag money-grubbing landlord taking advantage of the UK's insane utterly broken property market.

sourpuss2021

You could fix the radiator yourself for less than £100.  Just buy a TRV valve and pay a plumber to fit it.   

Yes you may resent the cost but if the heat is such a discomfort and you're prepared to wait out the building works then it may be worth it.   

Bendy_House

ARenter said:

Well I spoke with the l/l and he sent a one sentence reply - 'you can move with 1 months notice'. He ignored the issue of rent reduction. 

So looks like I'm going to start looking for a new place. I also have no confidence that the l/l will fix the radiator before winter and I'm certainly not doing it myself or paying someone else to.

The issue is not the noise per se, but the fact that I as not told that such extensive works would be carried when I signed the lease nor have I have been offered a reduction in the rent to compensate. The recent case Timothy Taylor Ltd v Mayfair House Corporation and another (2016) confirmed that this should occur.

Yes I could communicate - and spend 4 hours and £60+ on trains.

Just yet another scumbag money-grubbing landlord taking advantage of the UK's insane utterly broken property market.

That doesn't mean you HAVE to move, of course - it's your call.

You can sort the rad for zero money, or the cost of a small adjustable spanner. I think most folk could do this, and it's not even a 'bodge' - it's how they are controlled. Or a £50 rad cover (or a lot less if you keep an eye out on Marketplace).

And I've given my opinion on the temporary noise issue, and how to cope. 

Your call. Good luck finding a place with zero easy-to-sort issues.

[Deleted User]

Perhaps living in houses isnt for you.

SadieO

ARenter said:

Just yet another scumbag money-grubbing landlord taking advantage of the UK's insane utterly broken property market.

By... repairing the roof???

You say that the repair work is "preventative rather than urgent" - do you think he should only be doing work if it is urgent? Surely it's best to do maintainance work on properties and address issues preventatively then they don't become urgent? Sounds to me like a responsible thing to do!

(Also, it's not his decision or his problem that you have chosen to live so far away from your work that it's a £60+ journey.)

elsien

The radiator is sortable, as already said. You have said that the works will take another month (is that right?), so by the time you've found somewhere else and given notice, the noise should have finished. The landlord could have held you to your non-break clause contract but is allowing you to end it early, so not entirely just "another scumbag money-grubbing landlord taking advantage of the UK's insane utterly broken property market."

I'm guessing you're annoyed enough to move regardless but it may be worth considering whether you want the upheaval of another move so soon after moving in if the works are going to be completed within that timescale anyway?