That a three week wait to fix a broken toilet isn't acceptable?

[prestatynprlck]

I am in council owned housing and last night the handle on my toilet has broken and will no longer flush, I have lifted the lid and tried to fix it myself but no luck. I rang the emergency repairs number and they said that it is not an emergency as I can flush it with buckets of water and the next available appointment for repair is the 22nd of January. Am I being unreasonable that I shouldn't have to pour buckets of water down my loo every time I use it for the next three weeks? The woman on the phone this morning said that if it was her she would just call a plumber herself which I am probably going to end up doing but it sticks in my throat. I could probably manage for a few days but three weeks with no working toilet, really?

The council are going to repair it, presumably free of charge in three weeks. Meanwhile, you can use a bucket.

The alternative is to call out a private plumber and pay the charges for repair or a new toilet yourself. That is what others do. If you don't want to do that or can't do that then you need to check your entitlement.

You don’t need any of that to flush the toilet yourself. Just leave the top of the cistern off and pull up/push down (depending on the mechanism) the actually flusher in the middle of the cistern. You don’t need the handle.

You can also probably order the part you need for less than £20 on Amazon. Toilet flush systems really are very very simple to fix yourself. Check YouTube for a video matching your type of flush if you are unsure. But there really is no need for the cost of a plumber or waiting for the council.

If you dont know what youre doing dont mess with it as you may cause a flood.

Just dont flush piss, and only flush solids. Hold the bucket higher for a more vigorous flush.

It's not an emergency. You can still flush with water.

Does your home insurance have emergency home repairs in it?

This is a very simple fix which OP can sort easily herself with some help from YouTube or posting photos on this thread but, in general and with other issues, it really isn’t at all entitled to expect your landlord to repair broken fixtures… even if that landlord is the council. The OP doesn’t live there for free, she pays rent like every other tenant in the country and she is not “being entitled” in any way to expect the landlord to carry out repairs in a timely manner; which every landlord is legally required to do.

That’s really not going to happen. Toilet flushes are quite possibly the easiest form of DIY with any sort of system in your house.

Council people dont have home insurance ffs.

YouTube is your friend for things like this. I've managed to fix ours by following videos.

Good idea

That absolutely won't stop you maniacally triggering the flush

Toilet flushes with a handle rather than a push button are fairly easy to fix.
Look online for a guide or post pictures on here and someone might be able to help. If you are lucky @pigletjohn might show up.

Flushing with a bucket is annoying but not a nightmare.

is it an actual old fashioned handle rather than a push button?

Free of charge? Council house tenants pay rent.

Did you mean council people or just “renters” because I believe renters, whether council or private, don’t have home insurance other than maybe contents insurance if they choose.

What is your problem with people on social housing? Why wouldn’t you just say “renters don’t need home insurance.”

The HA is right- it isn't an emergency. So your repair goes in a queue. You might get it fixed sooner if their earlier plumbing jobs get cancelled.

I own and I've had to wait weeks for trades to come too, so even booking independent repairs aren't instant.

Free of charge for the repair. Rent wasn’t mentioned.

Mine went in 2018 and my landlord never fixed it, the part I needed ended up being £8.99 & I got a friend to fix it.

Sorry but… I now have a funny image of someone maniacally flushing a toilet 😆

I'm asking because all of the information that I can find online from other housing associations policies on Google says that a none flushing toilet is classed as an urgent repair if it's your only toilet.

What the fuck are 'council people' And yes SH tenants do have contents insurance.

But you can tix it yourself. Easily. Or just flush it manually. It only didn’t work because you’re probably doing it wrong. Post photos and we will help you.

Contents insurance does not cover a toilet repair.
Renters don’t have home insurance, which would maybe cover the toilet repair (but would be a stupid use of insurance).

Sounds like an easy fix you can do yourself with aid of you tube. I know we've had to fix it before using you tube. Tbh doesn't sound an emergency.

Yes pics might help.

It really isnt an emergency. A leak might be an emergency. Manually pouring water from a bucket isnt an emergency. I'd just do it on every poop.

Repairs are included in the rent. Same as if you were a private tenant and you can bet if the OP was renting privately the answers on this thread would be different.