We rent, and our sink hasn’t been fixed in 14 days

[Lollipop51]

A few weeks ago, our sink was becoming clogged. We were attempting to take the plug hole out when the plug hole got stuck. We have no access to a lever, it is a sealed unit.
We tried all the advice to free it, but none worked.

On Thursday 28th August I logged this online with the maintenance form on our estate agents website.
I received a voicemail about it on Friday 29th August, the lady asked if the sink is clogged and whether the plug hole is stuck. I rung her back an hour later and left a voicemail to confirm.

On Tuesday 2nd September I had not heard anything more; I had to follow this up and I called the number again. She answered and said she will inform our building manager.

On Thursday 4th September our building manager emailed us to say that the landlord has now been contacted to obtain permission for a plumber to come out.

On Monday 8th September we had heard nothing so I sent an email asking our building manager for an update.

She said “Your landlord has now provided approval for a plumber to attend and resolve the issue. The company will be in touch with you directly to arrange a convenient appointment.
We appreciate your frustration and are pleased that approval has now been given. Please note that if our plumber attends and determines the plug is stuck due to any fault of your own, you may be liable for the call-out charge.”

It’s now Thursday - 14 days later - and we still have heard nothing. Our bathroom sink is completely unusable and we are using the kitchen sink for everything which is unhygienic.

We have tried to deal with this calmly but I feel like it’s becoming a bit of a joke now. Our contract clearly states that dealing with matters within a reasonable time frame is part of the landlords duty.

Do I take this further? And how?

Sounds like you broke it though? Expect you’ll get charged.

I think maybe OP means the plug. I’ve had similar there’s only a couple of mm gap when plug is open so it’s not immediately obvious how to remove clogs. I know drain cleaner can damage the metal coating around plug hole. It does unscrew but it’s stiff ( and not obvious) and really easy to accidentally press down. They have a rubber / plastic seal which when new is quite springy so you press it down to release and it pops up. It does lose that springiness over the years so everyone is banned from pressing them down in our house as it’s a palaver to reopen.

The estate agent and ll have agreed to send a plumber out, and charge tenant depending on cause.

So that should be what's happening, within a decent time frame.

Keep on until plumber is sent op. Not good enough.

Yes so the plug hole was faulty and there was the tiniest gap so we couldn’t pour much down the sink. We did try this.

And the comment about how I chose to pay to landlords….. or we couldn’t afford to buy a house yet because the housing market is abysmal 👍👍

The sink blocking is you are responsible. I'd you've been messing with it and have broken it you need to get it mended.

No. It just means they will charge the tenant.

If I were you I would've called the plumber myself to fix it rather than highlight to my landlord that I had broken something and then expect them to pay to put it right.

You need to contact the agent right away so they can put things right, not do a hatchet job trying to fix something, making more of an issue and then expect them to pay to sort out your mess

Buy a bottle of drain blocker
You pour it down the sink
Read the instructions
Then some hot water
It should clear

I don't get why you didn't just call a plumber?

A clogged sink is your responsibility.

I've rented for all my adult life and would never call the landlord over a clogged sink.

Well, did any renters object to the Renters Rights Bill?

Have you had it fixed?
Your OP says it was clogged
That's not the same as a faulty plughole and you would have got different responses if it said faulty rather than clogged

If you can get to the down pipe
The u bend pipe sometimes collects debris & needs to be emptied
Put a bucket or bowl under the pipe before you start pulling it apart
You may need to turn the water off at the stop cock first

Why didn’t you just put some unclogger stuff down the sink? I wouldn’t pay for a plumber in the situation you describe as a landlord, because you clogged the drain, and then you broke it.

If I'm reading right it's the plug mechanism which has seized rather than the sink being blocked? Have you tried emptying the sink and spraying some WD40? This has worked for me in the past. Those push plugs look good but are prone to getting stuck ime.

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence
Just because you don't know of any, didn't mean no-one objected.

When I rented I have engaged and paid for the services of tradesmen for small jobs like this. I mean, why wouldn't you?

How can a plughole be faulty? Surely it was just gunged up by stuff you have sent down it, so you use a tiny drain-snake and unblocker to clear any debris. If you have broken it while trying to take it apart then the cost is yours to pay.

Do not under any circumstances stop paying your rent. This will A, Give them reason to evict you. B, mess your credit score. C, stop you being considered by future landlords.

I'm a LL and I don't use an agent as I prefer to manage my properties myself and form a professional relationship with my tenants. I had a text about 4 months ago about bathroom wash basin being blocked. DH dropped over same evening with Mr Muscle drain unblocked and it fixed it. Had it not been resolved I'd have had my maintenance man who is good with plumbing over the following morning. I can't understand why your first thought was to dismantle plug mechanism when likely Mr Muscle dissolves hair and clears pipes.

Your Op is very confusing. Do you mean that the sunk plug is operated by a mechanical lever which has broken? Or do you mean that there is a blockage?

Its this kind of plug. They're a bit shit. OP tried to tip drain unblocker down but it wasn't enough/couldn't get a drain snake down so she tried to get the plug out which you'd think should be possible but instead it jammed shut.

This kind.

Do not under any circumstances stop paying rent. They will evict you.
Really awful advise.