Rented house is FREEZING. Is there owt I can do?

crispsandwich

I rent a room in a house. The house is single glazed. My room is so unbelievably cold. I can see my breath as I type. I'm lying in bed with 3 layers on shivering away. TBH it's been like this most of the winter. There is mould growing on the walls down in the corners. The windows are constantly condensed. It's costing us £100+ a month in gas to heat the house, and that's when we're careful. My room is by far the coldest in the house. I haven't mentioned anything to my LL thus far. Do they have any obligations at all? Or is it tough s**t? It's almost unbearable at the moment.

CYBERCIDERSAVER

You can get a film that you put on the windows (stormguard is the name that springs to mind) and use you hair dryer to shrink it in place. It's about 5.99 per pack and it does make a little difference. eg, we get no condensation on the inside of our windowswhen we use this so no mould. Also it reduces drafts etc.

Or put a blanket at the window.


Sorry I can't be more helpful.

Nenen

If I was in your shoes I would try getting advice from CAB and/or Shelter. If you are paying £100 per month for heating :eek: on top of your rent then wouldn't you be better off finding another place to live... even if the rent was a little more you should save on the heating costs.

crispsandwich

I have signed an AST which runs until the end of August so I can't go anywhere . When I say it costs £100+ to heat the house, I mean in total, and that's between all of us. However, we're still careful. My room is so cold at night. I've been awake shivering a lot of nights. I have 2 big quilts and wear a few layers but I'm still freezing.

Nenen

What sort of heating is it? You mentioned gas but is that gas fired central heating with radiators or one or more individual gas fires in rooms? If you have gas heating have you got a gas safety certificate (I'm 99% sure that this is a legal requirement for the LL and important for your safety)? I would hope that a gas safety certificate would also mean that the gas heating was working efficiently... but maybe that assumption is incorrect!

My dd is a student and her halls are freezing and damp as the radiators seem to come on and off at whim. She's complained endlessly to no avail. She's just been laid up with a chest infection so we went and bought her an oil filled radiator today but not sure yet how much it will cost to run. This site reckons it will cost about the same per hour as running a computer (and significantly less than a fan heater or bar fire):
http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/core.nsf/a/energyrunningcosts

The oil filled radiator we bought was from Argos for around £50 but they do do some cheaper ones and you can also get them from Amazon etc. She went back to uni today so I'll check with her tomorrow to see how efficient it is. Take care and hope things warm up soon. How about hot water bottles as a temporary solution for tonight?

auntymabel

To be practical I suggest you get an electric underblanket - the type you can keep on all night. Cost very little to run. You'd have to kill me to get me to part with mine.

PasturesNew

Get hold of a cheap duvet and stick it under your sheet. With a duvet under you and one on top you'll be considerably warmer.

Also, get some nice thick bedsocks, never go anywhere without slippers/shoes on and stick a hat on.

Poppycat

Couldnt the landlord get a grant for insulation

I do sympathise with you I had a flat like that once and it made me serious ill due to mold in the end the council said the flat was inhabitable and I had to move out

mossstar

I agree with Auntymabel - get an electric blanket today!! You'll wonder how you lived without one. Modern ones are safe and low-cost to run, being too cold to sleep is miserable... and when you're tired it's harder to stay warm in a cold house during the day!

Sue-UU

I agree with aunty mabel and PasturesNew, both have really valid suggestions for you. Do get an (under) electric blanket, perfect for all night use if necessary.

If you have the type of gas heating that is anything other than gas-fired central heating, then ditch it and use electric instead as that type of gas heating is 'wet' which will only give you more condensation and make it colder for you.

Electric is a dry heat and the type Nenen is speaking about is ideal for you, so to are the slimline radiator/convector heaters. Do keep warm! I hate to think of people being so cold, especially on nights like we've had recently; luckily it's set to get warmer now, so you've some respite.

Your LL should be getting rid of that mould as spores from it can affect some of us in the same way as dust mite, he has obligations!

Good luck and do all you can to keep warm and sleep warm!

Sue.

TJ27

Phone the council private rentals people and ask somebody to visit. They should be able to do a Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) assessment. Tell them that you'd like them to rate the house for the hazard of "Excess Cold".

I can pretty much guarantee that this will come out as a category one hazard. They nearly always do. The council will almost certainly then tell your LL to improve things. If they don't, ask to see their HHSRS calculations, google HHSRS, do a bit of research and ask a few questions.