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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask for rent reduction

200 replies

GnomeDePlume · 22/08/2016 20:55

Sorry, posting here for traffic.

DD has just moved into a flat. Boiler doesnt work and the bloke sent by the landlord reckons it will take a week at least to fix.

DD has just started a new job 2 hours from home so needs to be able to shower daily.

WIBU to insist that DD gets a rent discount sufficient to allow her to join a gym for a month to get access to showers?

OP posts:
Cocklodger · 22/08/2016 20:58

YABU. and why are you insisting upon what your DD needs?
Shit happens. thats life.
No need to go demanding free gym memberships.

Fooshufflewickbannanapants · 22/08/2016 21:00

What? Yes yabu

witsender · 22/08/2016 21:00

It's only a week.

FuzzyOwl · 22/08/2016 21:01

Surely if your DD is old enough to live by herself, she is old enough to deal with issues that arise as a result. Does her employer not have onsite showers? It is annoying not to have a boiler working for a week and perhaps the landlord will make an allowance for it, but YABU to demand gym membership as compensation.

SquidgeyMidgey · 22/08/2016 21:02

Bit OT but why has she taken that flat if it's 2 hours from her new job?

Original poster
GnomeDePlume · 22/08/2016 21:04

She is paying rent for a flat which includes a working boiler (which doesnt currently work). She doesnt particularly want to join a gym, she just wants to be able to have a warm shower.

OP posts:
cuntinghomicidalcardigan · 22/08/2016 21:04

At least it's not winter. Mega quick cold shower will wake her up! Boil kettle (and allow to cool) to rinse shampoo out of hair. Job done. We had no hot water for 3 months from Jan to March once and this is what I did. Really encouraged me to streamline my morning routine!

HatePaperDoll · 22/08/2016 21:06

if it's only going to take a week, why are you looking for a month's gym membership?

Does her workplace have showers? A leisure centre will allow you in just to shower for a couple of quid.

Are you always so grabby?

BusStopBetty · 22/08/2016 21:06

It's not ideal, but a couple of kettles of hot water and a bucket and flannel will allow a decent wash. Hair is a bit tricker and may involve a cold wash.

That's a bloody long commute though.

BMW6 · 22/08/2016 21:07

Why can't she have a strip wash at the sink every day (and wash hair over bath with bowl of hot water and jug to rinse)?
That's what DH & I did when our bathroom was being rebuilt (2 weeks) and again when boiler broke down (3 days).
Not paying full rent is not an option - why wouldn't LL evict? Hmm

TheWitTank · 22/08/2016 21:08

It is only a week. Flannel/cold shower wash will be fine. Can you not go to the local swimming pool (council run) for a shower a couple of times? No need for membership.

Original poster
GnomeDePlume · 22/08/2016 21:09

This is DD's first job (uni placement). Job and flat are 2 hours from home so she cant just pop back to our house for a shower.

This is her and my first experience of the private letting market. If IABU to ask for a rent reduction then fair enough and I will sub her for a month's gym membership to get access to showers. She is a broke student until her first pay day.

OP posts:
YorkieDorkie · 22/08/2016 21:10

YABU, at least your landlord is fixing it! They don't need to lose out in income.

OlennasWimple · 22/08/2016 21:10

She can't decide not to pay her full rent, but a decent LL would reduce the rent for that period of time (or find some other way to compensate her). It's not "grabby" to not want to strip wash in the kitchen Hmm

But agree with other pp that this is her battle to fight, not yours.

Cocklodger · 22/08/2016 21:10

Yes thats what she's paying for.
and things go wrong
and as long as her landlord is taking all reasonable precautions to get it fixed ASAP, then there is nothing that can (or really should) be done.
Still don't get why you're meddling. surely its up to her to complain about something if she's not satisfied?
its only a week I'm sure she can go to a friends house for a few days (Or if worst comes to worse a leisure centre) and use dry shampoo and lots of deodorant on days that she can't do that.
its life. its not fun, but stuff like that happens.

IzzyIsBusy · 22/08/2016 21:11

She wont die from having a strip wash for a week.
She has moved away from home time to cut the apron strings or are you going to deal with all of lifes minor inconveniences life throws at her Hmm

BMW6 · 22/08/2016 21:12

BUT WHY CAN'T SHE WASH AT HER SINK USING A KETTLE OF BOILED WATER???????
ffs

newmumwithquestions · 22/08/2016 21:12

I have a flat I rent out and gave my tenants a 100% rebate when the boiler broke (for the time until it was fixed again).
But (and it's a big but) it was winter and ruddy cold and it left them without heating.
I'd have been a bit Hmm to be getting calls from my tenants mum! If she's working and renting a flat she needs to sort it out.

Original poster
GnomeDePlume · 22/08/2016 21:12

She has already had a weekend's worth of cold showers and flannel washes.

She has just had her first day in the new job and is feeling a bit lost and lonely in a different town.

OP posts:
HatePaperDoll · 22/08/2016 21:14

It is grabby to expect the LL to be out of pocket for a month's gym membership when the boiler will only be out of action for a week.

If he wasn't showing any sign of getting the boiler fixed then yes, a different course of action might be worth exploring but a week to fix a boiler is not unreasonable.

TheWitTank · 22/08/2016 21:16

Has she got a bath? It will take a while, but can she fill up with kettle water and cold to make a shallow bath for what feels like a proper wash? I've done it!

FuzzyOwl · 22/08/2016 21:17

I hope she likes her new job and appreciate she probably doesn't know anyone there to ask if she can shower at their house. However, most big employers have onsite showers (it encourages people to cycle or run to work and be fit/healthy) so maybe she should look into that first of all and if not, the local leisure centre will charge per visit instead of for an entire month (or year for lots of gyms) to allow her to shower if a cold wash really is unbearable for her.

Original poster
GnomeDePlume · 22/08/2016 21:17

I am getting involved because a. she has just started a new job so cant spend time trying to chase down the LL to get this fixed and b. I'm her mum. She has had a crap first day at work, she is feeling down and I want to help her.

OP posts:
wowfudge · 22/08/2016 21:17

Oh good lord - yes, it's inconvenient, but the LL is getting it sorted out. If your DD can't figure out how to have a wash without a working shower then she'd better learn pretty quickly. And she isn't working two hours away from her home; she's two hours away from your home.

Sounds as though she was at home when she was studying. You need to back off and let her find her own way.

IzzyIsBusy · 22/08/2016 21:17

Ok but not sure what that has to do with her being a grown up?

This is not the only time she will need to deal with a broken boiler in her life time. Best she learns how to handle it now rather than when she has a toddler, twins and no boiler Grin