To be tired of neighbour controlling the temp of my radiators?

[BibiBlocksberg]

Background, I live in a town house that is divided into two flats by addition of a fire door in the hallway.

Everything else is just like it would be in a normal house.

Including heating which has hot water tank & programme panel upstairs in my part & boiler downstairs in neighbours part.

Problem lies with downstairs neighbour turning the temperature on the boiler down to one she is comfortable with.

Which results in my radiators running lukewarm at best. No issues w (bleeding, sludge, rust etc as confirmed by a professional & boiler temp adjustment has been confirmed by neighbour previously.

Each time i report this to LL she has a word w downstairs & temps improve for one or two nights then back to lukewarm radiators.

Nearly 11pm & I’m freezing, wandering around in thermal long sleeve top, jumper, leggings under trousers & scarf & still not warm.

AIBU to be annoyed at my home temperature being subject to my neighbours heating preferences & how would you go about solving this once & for all?

Surely this does not constitute ‘reliable’ heating under LL responsibilities?

Is this even legal?!

Your LL needs to stop being a cheap twat and install independent heating for each unit.

How does the billing work? Sounds like a very strange set up.

You need to move. It's not going to get solved any other way.

If you don't have control of your own heating you don't have a flat, you are in a house-share. You should be paying less rent!

How are heating bills managed if you don't have independent systems?

Are you saying you share a boiler? ?

LL should put thermostatic controls on all the radiators - then you can be warm and they can have the cooler temperatures they like. These are cheap and easy to install. Good luck!

2 flats should constitute 2 independent heating systems.

This will never work as it sounds as though the heating is being shared.
Its not 2 separate flats if you share the heating. I dont even know if this is legal?!

Bizarre set up. Complain to ll and in the meantime I’d be looking to move, as I don’t think he’ll change very much!

That really doesn't sound right. You should both have independent heating. In the meantime the boiler temperature needs to be left alone and each tenant can adjust their radiators as to how warm they have the room. But urgent work needs to start to install separate units. How do you pay for this?

How does the bills work?

How are the heating bills divided? Do they have the only meter too?

You need to speak to LL about additional heating or move out. Sounds ridiculous and I'd be worried whether they had planning to divide the flat in the 1st place (doesn't sound like it) or possibly even someone sub-letting to you.

So I'm assuming you share an electric meter as well if all the landlord has done is put a door in the hallway? I would get out as soon as you can this landlord is a cheap skate and not to be trusted.

That's a ridiculous set up. I can't even work it out. Is there a master thermostat and your neighbour is turning that down? Do you have any control over the times your radiators come on?

This sounds well dodgy. Surely you have the right to a separate boiler, separate thermostat snd separate bills?

Firstly this isn’t right for two flats. This pretty much a house share.
Secondly, if we ignore the fire door and treat this as one house then heating isn’t efficient. If it’s a comfortable temperature downstairs then it should be the same upstairs.

Maybe monitor your room temperatures with some cheap thermometers - to see how cold it is.

If you have the hot water controller in your part of the house….you could adjust the setting downwards - for the times when you don’t need to use it….and then negotiate when your neighbour complains about that?

Thanks everyone for input, much appreciated!

Yes, it is a strange set up & one that i entered into knowingly 6 years ago now as needed somewhere to live after abusive relationship & LL accepted Pets as well.

Lovely area in nice part of town too, few problems until new neighbour moved in during lockdown 2.

Rent & Bills are all inclusive ( both parts of the house) so utilities are not divided at all.

Council officials came out in 2018 following reports from neighbours & judged all to be above board aside from hallway division which they said had to be changed from the former plasterboard wall to the fire door to comply w fire regs.

My own research suggests that this sort of set up became sanctioned by regulations back in 2012 provided no more than 3 people live in the property.

Still irritating from a heat control & non existent sound proofing view though.

I would be banging knocking on the neighbour's door right now to get the heat on. The only way they will change their attitude is if you make it their problem immediately.

Your landlord needs to sort this out. As you have hopefully been a good tenant for 6 years they will hopefully put their hand in their pocket.

Do the radiators not have thermostats

If your not paying for bills why don't you buy yourself an electric heater, oil filled radiators are cheap to run anyway. I'm sat here next to 2kw one (boiler old and not functioning well) and warm as toast even though below freezing outside. I can't be doing with being cold. Perhaps your landlord would buy you one even🤷

If all bills are included I'd buy cheap electric heaters and run them high all day long. If LL doesn't like it they can install a separate boiler in your flat!

Ask the landlord to put thermostats on each radiator. Then the boiler should just come on at set t8mes and the heating in controlled via the rads

As the bills are inclusive I would ask for the landlord to provide you with oil filled radiators and halogen heaters.

Or find the ones most expensive to run (they will prob be cheaper because of this) and use them a lot.

Maybe the increase in the electricity bill will encourage the landlord to get the neighbour to leave the heating on a higher setting.

Ooops someone else has said this before I’d finished writing!