Leak on external supply pipe, landlord refusing to repair

funinthesun39

Hi, I need urgent advice please! I am in a privately rented property and have a massive leak on the external supply pipe on the property boundary, confirmed by a Thames Water engineer. According to our water meter, we are using 2000 litres of water every day - there are 3 people living in the property, myself and my two children. This of course is resulting in sky high water bills, with my direct debit recently increased to £105/month. I have received two letters from Thames Water advising that it is the owner's responsibility to carry out the repairs, or if the property is rented as in my case, it is the landlord's responsibility. I have advised my landlord about the leak in February and kept him informed about all my discussions with Thames Water. I have forwarded both letters to him, messaged and emailed multiple times requesting him to carry out the repairs which he hasn't done. He insisted that Thames Water should come and fix the repair or change the water meter. There are also 3 smaller internal leaks in the house (from pipes under the kitchen sink, toilet and behind washing machine) -  they've been reported over a month ago but have not been fixed either.

My landlord has been ignoring my messages and emails for the past couple of weeks, including my last email where I advised him that I will be reporting him to the council if he did not respond in writing to my requests. Thames Water are now saying that they will carry out the repairs but will be charging me as the account holder for these works. I want this leak fixed ASAP as not only is it costing me loads of money but also it is a huge amount of water wasted every single day. I am very stressed and frustrated with the situation as if my landlord had fixed the leak, I would have been able to claim leak allowance from Thames Water, but now not only am I not able to claim all the money back but likely will be sent  a huge bill for the repairs as well. I feel really stuck in the middle, as  it isn't my responsibility to fix (neither would I be able to get a plumber myself to repair it as my tenancy agreement doesn't allow this) yet as the account holder I am responsible for paying the bills.

Does anyone have any advise on 1. negotiating with Thames Water, 2. dealing with my landlord? I have been unable to get through to CAB on the phone and just relying on general information I can find online.

Thank you 

Dolor

Do you have legal cover on your household insurance?  If you have, then ask for advice. The piping from the water meter into the home is normally the responsibility of the homeowner/landlord.

Swipe

I'd pass on your landlord's details to Thames Water and tell them to bill him as the property owner.

funinthesun39

Thanks. Sadly I don't have any legal cover. I managed to speak to the TW case manager yesterday who confirmed they would be now starting the process of section 75. I gave her my landlord's details, she said they would be charging him for the works, so I really hope this will be the case 

Dolor

Further to my post above, you may wish to read this forum thread:

https://www.property118.com/water-company-billing-my-tenant-5100-for-emergency-repairs/#:~:text=We%20legally%20issue%20the%20section,I%20hope%20this%20helps.

The bill may well come to you in the first instance as the consumer. Have you discussed with the landlord whether it would be cheaper to get someone else in to fix the leak? As an ex Landlord, I would have covered any costs.