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?

Distaste? Looking down my nose? She says she doesn't want to wait, and she has savings. Paying for the emergency plumber is the obvious solution.

Get hold of your local cllr & get them to put pressure to sort it. That is part of their role. To do casework on behalf of constituents. As it is a council property they should have a lot of leverage.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/repairs-and-housing/repairs-and-housing-conditions/getting-your-landlord-to-do-repairs/renting-from-the-council-or-a-housing-association/using-the-right-to-repair-scheme/

Toilet not flushing (if there is only one toilet in the property) I day to repair

Can you work out why it now comes out?

Is the white plastic part split perhaps.

I wonder if you can do a temporary bodge by using a rubber band to edge the black cone part in the white plastic part and it won't lift put anymore.

@MikeRafone it does flush ffs. Just not with a handle. Non flushing shitter means a blocked one.

don't be daft

a non flushing loo is classed as an emergency repair if you only have one loo

its not acceptable to not have a flushing loo and the Op is being fobbed off not only by the repair company but by many on here like you, who think she should put up with it for 3 weeks

I had the same happen with mine and I couldn’t fix it either. Nor could I get it to flush. Luckily I had the insurance they send out with water bills, think it was £12 for the first year ( goes up a lot in second year though) Plumber came out same day and replaced all the parts in the cistern.
Is it worth you looking online to see if your water company does the insurance?

And you shouldn’t be left 3 weeks without a flushing toilet. I used to be a landlord and this is a “ must be fixed within 24 hours” situation.

It does flush.
Non-flushing means blocked and unusable. This is not. What are you not understanding?

no it doesn't mean a non flushing shitter

if its the only toilet in the house a none flushing loo is counted as an emergency job and should be done in a day

My stopcock snapped off a month ago. The council told me to use a wooden spoon attached to the broken off bit.

It does flush.
Non-flushing means blocked and unusable. This is not. What are you not understanding?

the handle has broken and without the op trying to bodge something up she can't flush without buckets of water

that is classed as not flushing

In a past life I dealt with stuff like this and sometimes the contractors didn't want to come out but they had to as its a day job for a loo

It does flush albeit manually. Non-flushing means the bowl keeps filling and would overflow.

This is not something you contact your MP about. They have proper issues to deal with. Please (anyone but especially you) never waste their time on something this trivial.

You can fit a new handle yourself.

Difficulty at the moment is that the HA maybe closed for Christmas and New Year, and they will only have an (absolute) emergency repair service.

Are you actually speaking to your HA OP or the repairs service? Don't ring first thing Thursday, but ring and speak to them at some point, no need for councillors and MP's at this point.

Can't your husband fix it?

Why is everyone arguing over what constitutes a non flushing loo/emergency. The council set their rules for repair and they have decided this is not an emergency.

Yes I’m surprised the council are getting away with this. I’m with HA and my toilet broke and was classed as emergency and fixed the same night. Having access to a working toilet is a basic housing necessity, it’s legislation. The snobbery on this thread towards renters is unreal. Maybe speak to Shelter on Monday?

I don't think the OP has said its the only toilet (I suspect it is otherwise she wouldnt be so cross) but if it isn't that might explain why they have said three weeks.

But yeah it needs a new part. Fingers crossed they can come sooner than the 22nd if you don't fancy tackling it OP.

You are making up the rules as you go along, ive put links to how long it is for local authority to fix a non flushing loo

having sanitation is not a trivial matter

you don't get to police what queries are addressed to out MPs

Take photos and post here or take photos to B and Q (or wherever you use) and ask for the right part.

Flushing with buckets of water isn't that onerous. I'm an owner/occupier and I've had to do this in the past when I couldn't afford a plumber.

I was thinking just earlier that I haven’t seen a message from @PigletJohn in years. I hope all is well.