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?

I'm not a freeloader and I pay my own rent, I have spent a lot of money on upgrading the property as it was a right mess when I moved in and I keep it in good condition. I don't think it's too much to expect a broken toilet to be fixed within a reasonable time scale. I could probably pay for a plumber to come out but I also had an unexpected vets bill the week before Christmas and money is a bit tight at the moment.

I agree its the landlords respinsibility. Its the 3 week wait that OP aint happy with.

Oh it's you again. The one with the stupid usernames.

I think it would be expected though that most people would check it's not a basic fix to sort out themselves first though before declaring it non flushing.

The most common issue if the bit that hooks the handle onto the flush arm becomes unhooked at either end. It's a bit like a bike chain coming off - it renders the bike non working until you pop it back on again and then it's fine again.

There is every chance that even if its not the hook thats become unhooked that if you stick your hand in the cistern there will be a lever that will move when you press it down and that the toilet will still flush if you do that.

I've just fixed this myself, ordered a new handle (but could have ordered the plastic bit on its own but decided to change the old handle at the same time) got it off Amazon, the plastic bit on its own was about £4 - my kit with the handle was £12. Took me about 10 easy mins to do - took longer hunting for something to unscrew the old one with !

Yes. The same as a private tenant. Would you say that if the op was a private tenant people wouldn’t be saying it would be free? I’m a homeowner and it recently cost me £100 to get my toilet fixed. If I was a tenant, private or council I wouldn’t pay.

@prestatynprlck
Why aren’t you responding to any replies which are trying to help you actually fix it yourself. It’s easy. Take some photos and post them.

A toilet that simply isn't flushing is annoying, but it's not an emergency if no water is leaking. If they don't have appointments for 3 weeks then what do you expect them to do? They can't prioritise you over actual emergencies.

Pay for a plumber or fix it yourself. Toilets are very simple things, you'll be able to find a video on youtube explaining them.

YABU, all a handle does is release water into the toilet, a bucket is just that. I don’t understand the issue, it’s a minor inconvenience.

its not an emergency in the slightest, an emergency is if you or the property is in immediate risk of harm, this correctly does not meet the criteria of an emergency or urgent repair.

it’s a standard 28d routine repair!

You don't really need an actual plumber to mend a toilet flush handle, have you got any friends that could help if you buy the part, it's just really a diy type job.

3 weeks isn't unreasonable for non urgent repairs though. Premium service comes at a premium price. Emergency plumbers are expensive, especially at this time of year, and this isn't an emergency.

People have such an image in their head of 'council people' don't they? Any chance they get they like to remind us of it and that we can't expect more than the shit of anyone's shoe because 'cheap rent'. I am a professional with a masters degree and I got the property when I wasn't in this position and I am currently saving for a mortgage so I don't have to be reliant on the council anymore when things go wrong, some people aren't as lucky.

Pay for the emergency plumber then. Be good practice for when you get the mortgage.

Well I'm a council person and I've fixed plenty of broken toilet flushes so send us a pic of your cistern and let's see if we can get you a happy ending before 8pm

Post a picture of inside the cistern and we may be able to help.

All I said was council people wont have home insurance.

Id expect the landlord to repair it and 3 weeks probably isnt bad for non emergency.

I have already said that I have took the lid off and I have tried to manually flush it and reconnect the handle and it hasn't worked. I haven't just sat there with a non working toilet and waited for the toilet fairies to come and sort it.

I work for a number of HA/Council in a specialist area, none of them would do this in an emergency or urgent repair, a routine repair/ 3 week repair is a reasonable timeframe to repair a toilet flush handle!

Unfortunately it is the shortage of plumbers that will be the problem, I know one of our biggest customers (a housing association) asked us to cover their on-call plumbing jobs for a week last month because they did not have the staff or contractors available.

This will understandably be a low priority as the loo is working.

Surely when you get your own house you won't get a plumber out at £££ to fix a toilet flush.

@prestatynprlck

Right… but renter or home owner… why don’t you just fix it yourself? We’ve all done it! We’re offering to tell you how if you show us or you could go YouTube it. You might have to order something on amazing for £10 but you’ll get it done within a day or two! In the meantime, we can explain how to flush it manually if you show us the system.

If it is totally fucked, then at least you’ll get confirmation from others and be sure

Your big mistake OP was admitting on MN you were a SH tenant. MN thinks that all people who live in SH are benefit scroungers who should not expect a decent level of housing. Because FREE HOUSES. I agree 3 weeks is too long to wait for a toilet repair. I'd be pestering the HA to repair it sooner.

Take a pic of the inside of the cistern and post it here. The inside of a cistern is a really simple device. We can probably tell you how to fix it if we can just see the problem.

Post a photo already.

Personally if I was in rented I'd not be forking out to fix someone elses property.

Where are you getting that idea?

Listen, you can complain on here or you can post a picture / look for a video and fix it yourself. I would give the exact same advice if you were a private tenant or a homeowner. Being a council tenant doesn’t make any difference to fixing a toilet.