To expect them to replace my carpet?

[aquate]

My toilet started leaking on the 17th of November and I reported it to my housing association.

They responded to say they would send someone out on the 24th January. By this point, the water was leaking out onto my carpet and there was a wet patch. Heard nothing back.

I contacted again to say that the water was spreading rapidly. Nothing.

I contacted again so say essentially the entirety of my carpet was completely saturated with water. Nothing.

It's absolutely sodden. It stinks. We have to wear shoes inside. The entire landing is completely saturated and it's about to come into my bedroom.

The carpet will 100% need replacing. They should do this right? I don't know what to do!

Ask to talk to the who ever is in charge and tell them you have a child who could end up ill through the damp. It’s a joke

Are you phoning them? Your OP sounds like you are filling a web form or sending emails?

No, don't lie.

Just read some of the OP's follow-up posts.

You talk about it stinking, OP. Are you saying that there's sewage flowing back into your property? Because clean water from the cistern or pipework wouldn't smell.

So is the loo blocked and when you flush it's overflowing, or is there a crack in the soil pipe that's leaking sewage?

I don't know where the problem is. It smells like urine.

And it isn't a lie, I have a four year old.

And no, it isn't overflowing when flushed.

@pattihews who was telling lies? Her 4 year old could potentially end up sick with damp

Where is the actual leak coming from?

I can't tell.

I work in Customer Care for a large housebuilder - this should be an emergency call out. In most contracts it should be fixed within 24 hours maximum. Yes, any repairs (carpets, redecorating etc) should be completed promptly and free of charge, or else paid back to you if you pay put of pocket.

Out of interest, what HA are you with? What you're describing is a disgrace.

Thank you so much for your response. I hope that is the case for us.

I am with aspire housing.

I forgot to mention it is also now seeping through to my living room ceiling.

And never mind what PPs have said, it's not in any way your responsibility to find out what's wrong or try to fix it. Aside from that, he last thing any HA or other company would want is amateurs poking about in what is a potentially dangerous situation.

I wouldn't use the overhead lights downstairs OP, if there is water running through or near the electrics that's very unsafe.

Your HA should have an out of hours emergency line OP, could you find it out? Or potentially the contractor who did the plumbing if you know who it is? They might say no, but might be worth asking if you can get hold of them.

Speak to Shelter & your local council will have a housing standards department who you can speak to & can put pressure on your HA to fix the leak. If you don't already have contents insurance your HA may have an insurer you can use through your rent, mine is £2.50 a week through my council

Is the bowl of the toilet cracked on the inside or the outside? You say you're flushing the loo and it's not blocked, so the only way that water tainted with urine could be escaping is if it's leaking from the bowl or the waste pipe.

You say you can't tell where it's coming from. Wipe everything down so that the exterior surface of the bowl and cistern is dry and then you should be able to feel where it's coming from, even if you can't see it dripping.

But as others have said, this is a plumbing emergency and that's what you need to make clear to Aspire.

Is anyone here on Twitter? I'm not at the moment. I was banned for calling a man a man. Could someone else tweet Aspire and link to this thread?

Apologies if you've already tried this, but at this time of night the contact number should take you through to their emergency call-out line 01782 635200. Their website says this type of issue should have been resolved within 4 hours! I would also put in a formal complaint, if you haven't done so already.

Have you told them this or the extent of the damage it's causing?

Why are you worrying about the carpet when your ceiling is at risk of falling down...

How are you contacting the housing association? You need to talk to an actual person. Follow up with an email, but first you need to get someone on the phone and tell them how bad this is. Ask if you can arrange a plumber out then have the bill sent to the HA.

They can’t front the cost of a plumber, I imagine even if op could stump up the cost, ha may very well avoid refunding this. Which could lead to bigger stressors.

op you need to get on the phone to the emergency line at the HA, and insist you are taken seriously, the risk to health and building structure are real and it’s down to you to advocate yourself and push for someone to come and deal with the matter, if they get wishy washy with times /dates they’ll come out ask to escalate this to a formal complaint, which should put your issue in front of management not a call handler. Follow up your call with it in writing via email, for proof of timeline since the issue started.

I wonder if someone like the fire department could at least help the leak by turning something off if nobody can help locally?

as pp said you need to word this carefully, to ensure it’s not put as a “leak” like drips of water. This could cause a much bigger and costlier situation for the HA if they don’t pull their finger out. Call now, and keep calling until someone comes to your door.

Not his problem but I'm a bit surprised your dad couldn't turn off the water to the loo. It's just a lever.

So I rang them today, they said they can't come until Monday.

I think you need some help here. This is an emergency that cannot wait until Monday. Do you know anyone that can call on your behalf?

Have you checked your water board? Mine offers a 'leaky loo' fixing service free of charge. The wait time might not be any better but worth a shot?

Have you tried turning off the isolator valve to the toilet? If that doesn’t work I’d turn the water off completely, ring them back say either needs an emergency plumber or you to be rehoused until Monday

Are you adequately explaining the situation to them when you contact them? Can you suggest sending them photos by email to a specific email address for action?

If they don't respond go to the local newspaper and contact your MP.