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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

No heating or hot water since Christmas day morning - landlord seems in no hurry to help, aibu if I get cross now?

100 replies

PiperBeeley · 27/12/2017 10:19

Landlord has only text me to say his plumber (who is useless but he won't use anyone else!) is waiting for his van to get out the garage then he'll call me to arrange a date/time - probably next week!! Our house is freezing and I have 2 asthmatic children! Anyone know what 'rights' I have??? TIA X

OP posts:

Sugarhunnyicedtea · 27/12/2017 13:01

Do you have or can you borrow a couple of fan heaters?

specialsubject · 27/12/2017 13:11

Phone landlord. Texts are not reliable. Waiting for his plumber to get the van fixed isn't reasonable.
Go buy the electric heaters that everyone should own.

Ignore.mn fantasy about legal fix within 24 hours. Clearly some people still live at mummy's house. Even with a service contract you can be waiting days, I know someone that is.

Other legals ok? Gas safe etc?

CuriousaboutSamphire · 27/12/2017 13:13

Have NO intention of withholding rent - I know nothing will be resolved that way. Great. It is really shit advice far too many keyboard warriors give out. I always panic on an OPs behalf whenever I see it typed

I think, as others say, you may have to buy heaters yourself and then negotiate repayment from LL. One more text, or a call, to suggest that might be a resolution, then you or he gets onto Argos Click and Collect, today!!

Youcanstayundermyumbrella · 27/12/2017 13:15

Waiting for a repair because of parts is one thing. Waiting for a plumber to turn up just to start the diagnostic/repair process because the landlord insists on a particular individual with a broken down van is not reasonable.

Those British Gas contracts are rubbish. I've lost count of the number of people I've known who have been left waiting stupid amounts of time for a repair, compared to the time it would take to get an independent heating engineer in. And the cost of them too.

Witchend · 27/12/2017 13:25

He may be trying to get someone and not finding anyone. I've a friend in the same situation only it is their house.
Can't get anyone out before the 2nd. She says the freelance are taking holiday and the booked are already fully booked.

MrsPicklesonSmythe · 27/12/2017 13:25

I would call rather than/as well as texting. I miss texts all the time but never calls.

Curious has given good advice. Temporary heaters are very cheap you can pick them up for £10 ish each. Not ideal but essential if your children will be ill otherwise. A reasonable LL will reimburse. I would.

swingofthings · 27/12/2017 13:33

It really gets to me that more and more tenants believe that they have rights that beyond what other people would expect. My boiler went packing when I was a single mum in the middle of the winter. I did what homeowners do, I called any plumber I could find on the internet, and most gave me the usual 'sorry love, can't do at the moment, you know it's a very busy time'.

I finally managed to get one who said he could come the following week. I had no one to help and had to make do. I bought two heaters and we lived on hot water bottles, and heated water for our baths. Yes it wasn't nice but accepted it was something that happens sometimes. In the end, it took about 10 days for the problem to be sorted and no one was traumatised, but then again, it doesn't feel that long ago that I often had to go to school with the heating that often didn't work, and we all managed, kids and teachers.

RaindropsAndSparkles · 27/12/2017 13:40

As a landlord this is why we have contracts with reliable heating engineers. If tenants had a child DH or I would deliver some plug in heaters whilst they waited, if the heating couldn't be got going.

Not all landlords are irresponsible.

HelenaDove · 27/12/2017 14:02

Yes swing Those pesky tenants getting ideas above their station.

carrie74 · 27/12/2017 14:16

Hope you can get this fixed soon, but just wondered if you've had a check as to whether there may be a quick fix? Say topping up the pressure if it's dropped or relighting the pilot light? May not be either of these things, but thought it was worth checking.

lougle · 27/12/2017 14:16

I'm not sure the OP is being that unreasonable. Perhaps it would be helped if the Landlord was communicating with her? If the LL was keeping a flow of communication with her, that went along the lines of 'how is it going? I'm really sorry, but I've tried x,y,z companies, and none of them can come before 2nd January. In the mean time, I'm ordering these heaters and they will come by tomorrow. I'll try a couple more plumbers tomorrow, but I've been advised that it's unlikely that anyone will be able to help sooner than the 2nd.' Then the OP may feel better.

As it happens, complete loss of heating or water in the winter is classed as an emergency by my council, and as a council tenant, they will respond within 2 hours on any day of the year. Last year, our shower broke on New Year's Eve. We don't have a bath, it's a wet room. I have children. They insisted that it was an emergency because we had no other means of total body washing, so came and fixed it within 2 hours, on New Year's Eve, at 8pm.

Original poster

PiperBeeley · 27/12/2017 14:17

Ok, finally got a call from the plumber! He talked us through what might be wrong ... it appears our boiler has 'pressure' problems, we have a temporary fix and our heating and hot water are back on!! He's hoping to come out in the next few days so fingers crossed it stays on! Thank you for the help guys - really appreciated!

OP posts:

CuriousaboutSamphire · 27/12/2017 14:19

Great news! Hope it is an equally simple fix

specialsubject · 27/12/2017 14:21

I entirely agree that the landlord should be trying to find a plumber. But everyone should have backups, because stuff goes wrong. There is no excuse not to own electric heaters.

Next time, look for a rental with backup systems. Mine has two sources of heat and two of hot water. This is because stuff goes wrong. I have similar backups in my own house.

Everyone should also have a corded phone, a torch, candles and a list of emergency contact numbers written down, not kept on the brick which needs twice daily charging. Also enough cash in the house for a taxi to the nearest hospital.

Not prepping ,common sense.

ShiftyMcGifty · 27/12/2017 14:22

“hone environmental health at the council. I have done this before and funnily enough the landlord fixed the boiler very quickly once the had contacted them. They will fix it themselves and charge them if they do not comply.”

What the actual hell am I reading? The council cannot make repairs to a private property without the owner’s permission. Let alone fucking bill the owner for the work thereafter! Not without a lot of legal notifications and court.

specialsubject · 27/12/2017 14:22

Meanwhile - good news!

Boiler has a leak so keep an eye on pressure.

BoneyBackJefferson · 27/12/2017 14:23

swingofthings

I can't make my mind up if you are being goady or not.

FrancisCrawford · 27/12/2017 14:26

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LakieLady · 27/12/2017 14:32

it appears our boiler has 'pressure' problems, we have a temporary fix and our heating and hot water

We have to "top up" our heating system quite regularly (did it a couple of hours ago), I've no idea where the water goes, as we have no sign of any leaks anywhere. First of all one or more of the rads develops cold spots, I bleed them, then have to top the boiler up. It was the same with our our previous boiler, too.

LakieLady · 27/12/2017 14:38

It's right up there with the rights of common-law wives.

In 10 years of working in housing support, I have never dealt with a disrepair case that has involved any more than an EHO inspecting a property and then having a "friendly chat" with a landlord. And it usually takes over 2 months for them to visit the tenant, because they're so overstretched and understaffed.

Greenshoots1 · 27/12/2017 15:54

You are wrong. They did not make any money out of this.

They are not obliged to, there is no law to say they have to, it is in their contract as a selling point only

It wasn’t in our contract, therefore it was not a selling pint, so you are wrong again.

It absolutely is a selling point - they absolutely do make money advertising this - they absolutely lose nothing by activating this either, the people who lose out are the people who were in the queue ahead of you.

FrancisCrawford · 27/12/2017 19:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Greenshoots1 · 27/12/2017 19:10

its a British gas selling point, the engineer who was called out to you doesn't know or care whether you know that or not - you seem to completely misunderstand how this works - you put this account on the thread as an example of...what, exactly? someone behaving "honorably"?? when it is purely a commercial action, at no cost to them, and at some cost to other people on the list ahead of you, and has no bearing what so ever on the land lord.

Yo have totally misunderstood the whole situation

FrancisCrawford · 27/12/2017 19:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Greenshoots1 · 27/12/2017 19:24

For the last time, IT WAS NOT A SELLING POINT FOR ME IN 1989

you really don't get it, that is completely irrelevant, and you have completely missed the point, and it doesn't matter in the OPs situation either way

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