Expected to go 2 weeks without heating or hot water

[parmohotshot]

Hi

Private tenant here, the boiler in the property is 20 years old, I know this because the woman who used to own this house lives across the street and she had said boiler installed in the early 2000's!

Over the course of the last year and a half various things on the boiler have failed and there has been at least 10 visits by a heating engineer. The engineers say the boiler needs to be replaced but the landlord is insistent on replacing parts and keeping it limping along.

However on fri 27th Jan the boiler went kaput completely, the pressure gauge had gone to 4 bar and there was water leaking out of it. The engineer came out on the Monday, did a repair then less than 10 minutes after them leaving it failed again, went into lockout.

This resulted in the engineer saying the boiler needs to be replaced and they have sent the landlord a quote.

Managing estate agent said the landlord was blaming the engineer for a poor repair and wouldn't authorise a new boiler.

I kicked off, boiler now authorised but apparently because the landlord didn't pay for the boiler in time I now have to wait until Friday for them to come out and do the job as there's apparently no other availability, meaning I will have gone for 2 whole weeks without heating and hot water!!

Worse still, the estate agents want to come out and inspect this week!!! I can't wash clothes, have a bath (shower works but it's not very nice as the air in the bathroom is freezing), I can't do dishes or anything !!!

I have gone my ends but I've just been told tough titty essentially.

I feel like I'm in the twilight zone, am I being unreasonable to expect a rent reduction or the job to be brought forward???

Can't you boil a kettle to do dishes?
Are there any laundrettes nearby?
Plug in electric heaters should be provided by your landlord if your heating isn't working.

If the shower works (and presumably you have a kettle?), why haven't you done any dishes or washed any clothes?

I would use hot water from the kettle to wash dishes. Also your washing machine probably has a cold water feed only. I know mine does. Maybe you need to check?

Washing machines heat their own water

Most modern washing machines only use a cold water feed as they heat the water themselves, so surely you should be able to do laundry (although I appreciate that drying will take longer). Surely you could use the shower to get hot water for dishes or boil the kettle a few times? I get that it's inconvenient but it's only a few weeks.

Your landlord should have been providing you with electric heaters and contribute to their extra running costs. Everything else you can do via kettle - your washing machine should still work?

That’s a really unfair miserable situation, and it doesn’t seem right. But I don’t see why you can’t do washing or wash up?
Your landlord should be providing heaters Id have thought.

You can also ask your letting agents if they can delay the inspection due to current circumstances.

Not being funny, but when I went a year without a functioning boiler or oven (and no shower), the (social housing) landlord's view was that I was OK because I had a kettle, microwave and fan heaters.

My parents had to go four weeks before they had a working boiler, earlier this year, thanks to a mixture of failed repair and waiting for an engineer to be available to install a new one. They own their own home. This isn’t because of your landlord! They can’t magic things up for you just because you rent.

Washing machines use cold water and heat it up
You have an electric shower so you can keep clean
Boil a kettle for washing dishes

It’s unfortunate, but one of those things that happens occasionally.

Not the point but you can do washing- washing machine is a cold water feed and you can boil a kettle to take the edge of for washing dishes.

But I’d be absolutely livid, it’s obvious the boiler is at the end of it’s life, an emergency plumber should be able to sort within 24-48 hours and you should be given heaters whilst you’re waiting.

You have a working shower.
Washing machine fill is usually cold water.
You could boil a kettle for washing up.
You've been without heat for two weeks in the winter which is poor and your landlord should have offered you some additional stand alone heaters as a stop gap.
You could ask for a reduction to reflect that? But I don't think the situation is as bad as you are suggesting.

I don't have a kettle.. just one of those breville hotcup things that gives you 250ml hot water for a brew. I can wash clothes I just can't bloody dry them and the washing is piling up ... I've had a pair of jeans damp on the clothes horse since last week.. I woke up this morning and it was 0 degrees .. the house is colder than it is outside.

No hob and saucepans?

@NewBootsAndRanty im in social housing and that doesnt surprise me at all. Yet many HAs twitter feeds were full of patronising tweets about health and hygiene during Covid Hypocritical cognitive dissonance

I would be asking LL to supply heaters and to provide payment for laundry costs or whatever you are out of pocket for the fact you don't have a working boiler

Can you get advice on your rights from shelter housing advice service ? My friend works for a similar company that is contracted by LAs to give advice on these kind of rented housing issues

But shelter is a good start

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice

And no doubt the landlord will then be moaning about mould

When our boiler broke we had to wait two weeks before we got a new one - we had three companies round to provide a quote and the one we choose then couldn't fit us in for a week and a half due to other bookings.

Your landlord is allowed a reasonable amount of time to get quotes and then needs to book the engineer and wait their turn like everyone else. As long as the Landlord/Letting Agent can prove they are dealing with the situation I don't think you'd get anywhere with a complaint.

You are lucky you have an electric shower, we had to wash at the sink with water from a kettle for two weeks and borrow MIL's bathroom.

it’s not ideal but:
You don’t need hot water to use your washing machine.
You can wash dishes using cold water (I do).
You have a shower (electric presumably). I once spent two weeks washing daily by boiling up some water and having a “camping shower” (basically pouring the water over myself after soaping up).

You will really appreciate the boiler when it’s been installed!

Is it a system boiler or a combi boiler ?

If it is a system boiler then it may have a built in immersion heater that you could use to get hot water.

I would be threatening to get legal representation tbh. Your landlord should be supplying you with temporary electric heaters and pay for their additional cost of use. Maybe talk to citizens advice and see what they have to say about it, as I am sure that this issue must have come up before.

When I was privately renting we had a two week period with heating or hotwater including showers we got:

1. 3 portal electric heaters
2. £50 toward the electricity bill (this was 2017) so multiply up
3. temporary gym access to shower

Just to give you some food for thought

Agree with others, you should ask for a rent reduction for the two-week period.

Even with a proactive landlord you'd probably have to manage a few days without heating/hot water as new boilers don't appear overnight....in the meantime, help yourself by boiling a big pan of water on the hob to do dishes, and take your wet clothes to the launderette to tumble dry.

Good grief - of course you are not being unreasonable! You've had a sub standard shitty boiler limping along, breaking and being mended poorly for months. Your landlord should have replaced it before it broke so completely- they've had plenty of opportunity!

The victim blaming on this thread and the 'race to the bottom' attitude that people have had to put up with worse shit than this so she should just suck it up is depressing!

Op shouldn't have to be sitting around freezing, boiling kettles, going to the laundrette to dry clothes- she pays rent and this should have been sorted. I would expect a rent reduction for this month and a massive bloody apology for the inconvenience!

@parmohotshot - go buy yourself a kettle? Honestly, some people!

I was in between boilers around this time last year. Kettle for washing the dishes as already mentioned on here. My washing machine is 17 years old but even that is cold water feed, again already mentioned in this thread. For drying out clothes, I used one of those heated clothes horses that plug into the electrics. Then an electric heater, which isn't cheap to run but it was only for a few days.

Invite agent in for the inspection and show them how ypu living
They csnnot fail you for lack of washing up ! and it gives you chance to show the impact of no boiler

I'm shocked at the responses here!! I pay a large amount of rent every month and the house is very dated and hasn't had any TLC by the owner for years. However I don't ask for things like new carpets... but the very least I expect is to be comfortable in the place! Only on Mumsnet hey