No Heating for 3 Months!

whatever123456

Hi everyone I am looking for a bit of advice (its a bit long, sorry!)

My boyfriend and I moved into a rented apartment on 5th October. There is a large heater/air conditioner in the front room and electric storage heaters in every other room. When we moved in we were told that the main heater wasn't working. It wasn't working when the previous tenant lived there and was not fixed before we moved in.

I contacted the landlord about this straight away and was told to contact the heater people directly and provide them with the serial number of the heater. However, the heater does not have a serial number on it. This was told to the landlord, who said that she would get a serial number of another heater in another property that they rent out in the same building.

The landlord then contacted the heater company again and arranged for an engineer to come out. When this engineer came out, he was an electrician and had no idea about fixing the heater. Again this was told to the landlord.

The landlord arranged for another engineer to come out. This time, the engineer took the whole thing apart to diagnose the problem and apparently ordered the parts to fix it. However, he never returned. This was about four weeks ago.

The landlord has now told me that an engineer will be coming on 2nd January! This is almost three months since we moved in!

However, I have no assurance that this will actually happen, and doubt that it will.

Also, most of the contact between the landlord and myself is conducted by me phoning her, and she texts me back. Personally I feel this is very unprofessional and just a way to fob me off without having to talk to me.

I am getting really p***ed off with the whole thing as we have to heat our front room with a small heater and it's really freezing!

Has anyone been in a similar situation? How did you handle it? Any advice would be great fully received

Thanks

TheDink

Your landlord has certain repair obligations when renting out the property. These include keeping the heating system in good repair and working order. You have a number of options available to you, but these do risk damaging your relationship with your landlord, so tread a bit carefully.

1. Contact your local council housing department who can inspect the property and issue a notice for repairs if it is considered to be hazardous to health.
2. Tell the landlord that the delays in getting the heating repaired are unacceptable to you and that you will be withholding the rent on the property until such time that the heating is working again. At this point you will need to pay up all the unpaid rent but not any late payment charges or interest.
3. Get the repairs done yourself. Deduct the cost from your rental payment and send the landlord a copy of the invoice for the repairs as evidence. You could check with the landlord that they would be agreeable to this course of action beforehand.

You may want to check out your legal position with Shelter or the CAB before taking any action such as withholding rent, just to make sure you cover your back.

tiggerwoo

Never mind you damaging your relationship with the landlord..what about the landlord damaging her relationship with you.They have you over a barrel and could'nt care less.It is so one sided..they win...you lose. Disgusting!!!
However good luck and I hope you get this sorted...and sooner rather than later.

Generali

Don't hold your breath about getting the heating on. Is your deposit protected? Do you have a gas safety cert?

LLs like this are a disgrace. They put their profit before the comfort (and often lives) of others.

kingkano

But renting is so much better than buying!!!! Sorry....

Sarahllord gives good advice. And I also agree with Generali (although in my experience mate they make up the majority sadly). Make sure you let the letting agent know what your doing as well. It will be them chasing you for the rent etc....

whatever123456

Thanks for your replies everyone, I'll keep you updated

clutton_2

don't with-hold rent - its the easiest way for a landlord to get you out.

Generali

clutton wrote: »

don't with-hold rent - its the easiest way for a landlord to get you out.

That's true but who wants to live in an unheated house in a British winter!

It may be breach of contract but it's also the only sanction that a tenant has against the LL most of the time.

MissMoneypenny

I agree with sarahllord about contacting your local council. Ask to speak to private housing. You should be due some compensation from your LL too.

Sounds like this is one of those LLs who don't look after their assets, so it may be better if you move to another property at the end of the contract.

MissMoneypenny

clutton wrote: »

don't with-hold rent - its the easiest way for a landlord to get you out.

I think you can withhold the rent if you give notice, at least, that is was a solicitor friend told me. From what I recall, he said to put it all in writing. The first letter saying the work needed doing and putting a time limit on it, the second letter saying that if it wasn't done by (a date) then you will arrange for the work to be done and deduct the cost of the work from the rent. You might need to check this with Shelter of a solicitor though as I was told this about a 10 years ago.

I would definitely report this LL to your council private housing , as they have a lot of powers now and can "go" for the bad LL. Leaving a tenant in a house without proper heating is really bad and will be bad for their health. It can't be doing his house (his asset) any good either!

The more I read MSE about what LLs do or think, the more I am astounded as to how ignorant of the law most of them are.