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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

143 replies

BibiBlocksberg · 05/01/2022 22:41

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?

OP posts:
womaninatightspot · 05/01/2022 23:16

I think given bills are inclusive I'd invest in some plug in heaters. Some of them really throw out heat. I'd also be suggesting to the landlord that she reimburses you for the cost. It really needs sorting out long term but it'd stop you freezing in the meantime.

BrotherHelp · 05/01/2022 23:16

@ThreeLittleDots

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!
This!
womaninatightspot · 05/01/2022 23:17

Crossposted with everyone else :)

Oddbobbyboo · 05/01/2022 23:19

I have recently had a separate thermostat fitted upstairs in my house so it can be done.

Your quickest solution is to buy an oil filled radiator… look on Facebook Marketplace people often sell them there. Bonus that the bills are included x

Monty27 · 05/01/2022 23:20

That's not separate housing. It's bill sharing, which is surely out of planning and mortgage and HMRC and I'm sure a lawyer would have a field day with your LL

Justkeeppedaling · 05/01/2022 23:21

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

So you're paying for heating but not actually getting any heating?

Lorddenning1 · 05/01/2022 23:22

I would buy a couple of heaters and blast them if the utilities are included in the price.

Original poster
BibiBlocksberg · 05/01/2022 23:23

:) re running electric/halogen heater for hours, might just do that & wait for the inevitable whinge on the size of the bill.

Radiators are the type with small adjustable valves at the end which really only turn on/off ie no thermostat on them.

Even so, surely common sense would dictate that you would turn off your radiators if too warm to save your neighbour from freezing rather than turning down boiler temp?

Obvs not applicable here....

OP posts:
Wreath21 · 05/01/2022 23:23

Please don't harass your neighbour about this - it is the landlord's fault/responsibility and your neighbour is not obliged to be too hot in order for you to be comfortable (whether they are turning the heat down for their own comfort or because they are trying to save money).

Original poster
BibiBlocksberg · 05/01/2022 23:25

Justkeeppedalling - that’s right, well, getting some heat, just not enough of it & with added frustration of lack of control/consideration really

OP posts:
Cherrytart23 · 05/01/2022 23:26

Tell her to stop turning the boiler down but to turn her radiators down Instead maybe she doesn't know you can do that.
Is heating included in rent costs otherwise how do you each know what to pay with only 1 boiler?

Hairyfriend · 05/01/2022 23:29

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

How many people live on your flat and in the other? Are they split equally or based on per person? Why should you pay for heating that you don't get???

StoneofDestiny · 05/01/2022 23:29

Surely your neighbour can just turn her radiators off and leave the boiler alone?

gah2teenagers · 05/01/2022 23:33

I have to say though what is your idea of cold because my work colleague would say anything less than 28 degrees is absolutely freezing and I would prefer it to be a constant 18 so you can imagine the fun we have with the heating controls. At 11pm surely all heating would have been long turned off ready for bed.

Hawkins001 · 05/01/2022 23:37

All the best op.

Dyrne · 05/01/2022 23:40

Another one saying buy some plug in heaters and an electric blanket. If your LL doesn’t like the increased electric bill then maybe that’ll force them to do something about the heating situation.

Saracen · 05/01/2022 23:40

I can see why your neighbour doesn't want to be too hot. Turning her radiators off is a very all-or-nothing solution. She deserves to be comfortable too. The landlord could install proper thermostatic radiator valves so the neighbour can adjust each radiator to a comfortable temperature.

Meanwhile, if I were you I would tell the landlord you will be using portable heaters until the heating is sorted out. When she gets the next electric bill, I'm sure she'll be motivated to fix things properly!

Totalwasteofpaper · 05/01/2022 23:42

Go down and tell her to turn it up. Every. Single. Time.
Also show her how to turn down her rads.

Butchyrestingface · 05/01/2022 23:42

It sounds a batshit arrangement. Is this one of those situations where either you are miserable or your neighbour is miserable?

scoobydoo1971 · 05/01/2022 23:44

Every rented home should have an EPC report. I ponder how that would work with a shared boiler! Environmental health should be able to solve your heating troubles if you ring them and ask for an inspection. I am not even sure how fire/ carbon monoxide regulation would work where two occupants share one heating system. I mean how would you shut off the boiler in one flat if repairs were needed to, say, a leaking radiator in another?

Twofurrycats · 05/01/2022 23:45

A long time ago an ex boyfriend lived in a (dreadful) flat with this sort of set up except it was shared heating between 4 flats.
Trying to agree the heating times was never going to work as they all worked different hours and changeable shifts. In the end the heating was turned off and everyone ran their own electric heaters. And it wasn't all inclusive bills

Original poster
BibiBlocksberg · 05/01/2022 23:46

gah2teenagers - 28, blimey think i’d faint at that level of heat! :)

Haven’t measured temp in here but cold enough to need double layers w oven going for an hour earlier too.

Agree that heating should have been off for bed some time ago but with only a small amount of heat coming out of rads ,its taking forever to get to a decent level of overall warmth, 1 degree here with same but minus set for overnight.

Winter duvet calls, thanks again for all input, first time i’ve talked about this to anyone & enormously helpful for perspective.

OP posts:
Wreath21 · 06/01/2022 00:00

@Totalwasteofpaper

Go down and tell her to turn it up. Every. Single. Time. Also show her how to turn down her rads.
She would have every right to tell OP to go fuck herself or simply refuse to answer the door. She is living in her home and is not obliged to have it at a temperature which is uncomfortable for her just to oblige OP. There is no moral superiority attached to being more upset by heat or by cold.
Wreath21 · 06/01/2022 00:02

Actually it is easier to deal with being too cold in your home (when it's a matter of different temperature preferences rather than living in a house with inadequate heating or being unable to afford heating) - put some more clothes on - than it is to deal with being too hot.

StormzyinaTCup · 06/01/2022 00:05

That's a very odd set up these days (and does sound like it could be a bit iffy in terms of what the landlord should be providing as a basic requirement). There are all sorts of family set ups and work arrangements where this would be a huge problem. What happens with regards to hot water?