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Original poster

How long can a landlord leave you with no heating or hot water?

18 replies

Hai2012 · 02/11/2022 10:50

Does anyone know?

I reported that my boiler had completely stopped working, no display, no heating or hot water, last Monday, and they said 24hrs. Someone came out tuesday and said they needed to order parts for it and would come to do it on Thursday, then it was Friday as they couldn't get the parts, then Monday, then yesterday. Someone came yesterday to fix it, to find out that it's a much bigger problem, and i was told it was hopefully being done today.

I've rung them today for them to say it's been Passed over to the manufacturer as it needs a new circuit board and to ring them.

I've phoned them and they have no record of the referral anywhere.

We've had no heating or hot water for 9? Days now. We have the heaters they gave us last time the boiler broke but they are so expensive to run, especially these days ,that I don't dare put them on.

Its a housing association property, myself and 2 disabled children live here and I'm at a loss as to what to do? We need to be warm and bathe properly.

Im not sure what to do?

OP posts:

Parrotpretty · 02/11/2022 10:54

They should have left you with temporary electric heaters. Do you have a electric shower or immersion for hot water? The HA should also give you a certain amount of money for everyday you are without. I think its around £5.

WeAreTheHeroes · 02/11/2022 10:58

They told you to call the manufacturer? You shouldn't be doing that. Whoever deals with maintenance for the housing association should be chasing the repair.

If you need heaters, ask for them.

Malbecfan · 02/11/2022 11:03

OP, whilst I understand your frustration, you are in the same position as an owner would be. Your LL has acted quickly by sending someone out within 24 hours. You have an alternative way of keeping warm, albeit an expensive one right now.

Go back to the HA and explain the disabled children. Ask them to expedite the repairs - it should not be you having to chase the manufacturer. As a gesture of goodwill, ask if they might be able to give you something towards the increased cost of using electric heaters. If you don't ask, you don't get, and you might be lucky.

caringcarer · 02/11/2022 11:08

They sent someone put quickly. Unfortunately you needed new parts. They ordered them. How could any of this have been done more quickly? When my boiler broke last year I ordered new one but had to wait 8 days for it to be delivered and gas fitter come to fit it. You have been given a heater to use so use it.

Dazedandconfused10 · 02/11/2022 11:09

If its a circuit board you'd be in the same situation if you owned the house. There is no time limit to when repairs must be completed just that the agent / association must respond quickly and been seen to be actioning it. I understand its frustrating but just because you are a tenant doesn't expedite the time frame a repair takes . Push back on calling the manufacturer though, that's not your job to do.

Brefugee · 02/11/2022 11:52

Malbecfan · 02/11/2022 11:03

This is bullshit. It is one of the very few advantages a renter has, especially from a HA.
In Germany this would lead to a pro-rata reduction of rent.

Escalate it within the HA and ask them what they honestly expect you to do.

ifonly4 · 02/11/2022 12:07

I'm a homeowner. My engineer told my ages ago that on rare occasions it can take two weeks to get a part, so I'd say the delay hasn't been unreasonable. We've had to wait a few days before ourselves.

However, it does sound a bit odd that they've passed it over to the manufacturer. If a decent heating engineer or electrician in the company can't replace a circuit board, I'd be wondering why. Our boiler broke down a few years ago and our engineer was honest and said he couldn't fix it, and suggested I phone manufacturer. Turns out it genuinely couldn't be fixed, which in November wasn't great but we survived despite no heating or hot water for a month.

Fuwari · 02/11/2022 12:46

12 months approx, also an HA tenant. Prepare to dig in for a long wait.
They gave me those stupid expensive heaters too. Luckily I have an electric shower so we could still clean ourselves.
I chased them and chased them. In the end I got environmental health involved. That seemed to do the trick. So my advice would be to contact them. But you won't be able to do that yet I think as you do have to allow the HA some time to fix the issue.

HA's are fine with small easy to fix issues. Anything more complicated and they don't know what to do. They also need authorisation for more expensive repairs. This seems to mean things get "lost" in the system and it's a nightmare trying to get it resolved. It isn't good enough but they don't care. I had another issue I ended up getting compensation for. Then they witheld half of it for rent arrears when I was actually in credit!!! So then they had to pay me more for that! Do they care? No.

Maverickess · 02/11/2022 12:58

While it does take time to source parts and get them delivered, the OP is paying for that to be done as part of renting and the LL has an obligation to chase parts etc as a homeowner would and get it sorted as quickly as possible, not tell the OP to ring manufacturers and make her chase repeatedly and wait longer than necessary.

I always wonder on these threads if people would put up with it from an AirBnB or a hotel? Or if they'd decide they're paying money for something that's not being provided and refuse to accept the 'A homeowner would have to wait reason'? Or they'd be kicking off left right and centre about it.

Irridescantshimmmer · 02/11/2022 13:14

Due to the fact you have 2 disabled children, I suggest you contact the Housing Ombudsman.

Housing Ombudsman

I also live in a HA flat and when my boiler needed a new circuit board they came out the next day and installed a replacement CB, but Accent Housing chased this up and not myself as again, like other people have correctly said, its not the tennants' responsibility.

Make a complaint to the HA

Then, complain to the housing Ombudsman link above, it should speed things up.

Malbecfan · 02/11/2022 17:05

@Brefugee it is not "bullshit". As this is a UK site, it is reasonable to assume that the OP is in the UK. If they are in Germany, they should say so in the OP. Why state the rules in Germany; you might as well state them in Chile or Botswana as it is totally irrelevant. In the UK, the LL has fulfilled their obligations as they have attended in a timely manner and the OP has an alternative albeit expensive source of heat.

Untitledsquatboulder · 21/11/2022 20:24

What's the EPC rating @Hai2012 ? If it's low then I suggest you either raise it before the regs change (needs to be a c or above) which will make it cheaper to heat. If it is a c or above either provide dehumidifiers or get new tenants.

I've been renting out the same flat for 20 years. For 18 of those years it's been fine and dry and mold free, for 2 of those years it had constant horrendous problems with black mold. After a lot of investigations and redecoration and talking to the tenants about ventilation I gave them notice (only time I've ever had to do that) - never had a problem since.

Untitledsquatboulder · 21/11/2022 20:26

Oh God sorry, wrong thread. Please ignore.

urbanbuddha · 21/11/2022 20:32

Phone your local councillor and ask them to intervene with the HA to speed things up. The HA is more likely to pressure their suppliers if they’re being pressured from above and sadly as a tenant you don’t count as above. You could also consider a formal complaint to the HA stating that you expect compensation.

Choconuttolata · 21/11/2022 20:34

Speak to environmental health at your local council. I did this when in emergency housing placed into another council area by the council with a duty to house us. We had no heating or hot water for 10 days, same sort of excuses as to why it wasn't fixed. The environmental health team in the local council managed to put pressure on the council in charge of our housing and it was fixed with 48 hours.

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/complain_to_environmental_health_about_private_rented_housing

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/health_and_safety_standards_for_rented_homes_hhsrs

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/complain_about_council_or_housing_association_repairs

Crazykatie · 21/11/2022 20:34

A competent plumber will find the fault and get a new part delivered next day for most boilers. If the boiler is a write off, new boilers are available ex stock, as it’s LA just keep hassleing them, do not go without a warm house you and your childrens health will suffer.

urbanbuddha · 21/11/2022 20:37

I've rung them today for them to say it's been Passed over to the manufacturer as it needs a new circuit board and to ring them.

You shouldn’t have been asked to do this btw - that’s bollocks. It’s the HA’s actual job to deal with this. The HA should be supplying electric heaters in the meantime for which they pick up the extra cost.

justasking111 · 22/11/2022 15:55

Our boiler didn't work the timer system was kaput. Plumber ordered a new part was a few days before that arrived and he could install it. Friend in a tenancy boiler wouldn't work just like @Hai2012 had to wait for plumber couldn't replace the part so new boiler ordered. Again a further wait for that to arrive then be installed. Took two weeks in all.

It's no'ones fault it just takes X amount of time

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