No heat or hot water in rented flat with children

[Throwaway1999]

Hi, heat and hot water have been off since Thursday. Landlord came yesterday and couldn't fix it, then plumber came today and said he needs to order boiler parts but everything's shut and we will have to wait until Monday or Tuesday.

Is this true, do we definitely need to wait until then? This will be 5-6 days of no heat or water. It is literally freezing and we can't have baths, kids are wearing their winter coats and just lying in bed.

How entitled!

Even emergency plumbers can't magic parts out of thin air - they're generally there to (as their name suggests) prevent emergencies - so they'll stop leaks etc. but most repairs have to wait until the parts can be ordered. That's just life.

Not really. Do you not understand LL's responsibilities? I've had same day boiler repairs done (including parts) and also a new boiler fitted within 72 hours in my own house. If you're a LL you can't just palm off tenants with your mate who'll come next week. You provide suitable accommodation with all the basic utilities, or you provide an alternative. The LLs on this thread talking about tenants as if they're doing them a favour are the entitled ones.

But depending on the area, that's just not always possible, no matter how much you offer to pay or how good the landlord is.

I could get a same-day call-out around here but as it's a Saturday then the parts wouldn't be available until Monday PM at the earliest.

I lived without hot water and heating for nearly ten months because it took that long to save up enough money for my to have my boiler fixed. With baby DC it was hard to work enough overtime hours to get anywhere close to the amount of money needed for the new boiler. I ended up with damp and a burst pipe. It took me another six months to save enough money to have the kitchen ceiling put back up after the pipes burst. And then saved a bit longer to have it replastered.

It’s not ideal but you will be OK. I had a plug in heater and bathed using a baby bath and kettles. It’s in the landlords interest to sort it because of the damp and burst pipe stuff as above. But it’s only a few days.

Asking him to provide alternative heating, or to reimburse you if you buy some, would be reasonable OP, but if the part can't be obtained until Monday/Tuesday that's not down to the landlord.

My boiler packed up on Christmas Eve one year and we couldn't find a plumber who was working before the New Year. We bought and borrowed electric heaters and went to friends for showers.

A few years later my oven packed up on Dec 22nd and was beyond repair and I couldn't get a new one fitted before the New Year. We had chilli for Christmas Dinner that year!

Ridiculous comment. If it was the LLs own house would they get the parts any quicker? No. The LL reacted quickly got a gas engineer out promptly and the parts are on order. The OP can ask the LL to supply heaters until the boiler is repaired. Alternative accommodation is bonkers.

I have had a boiler fail in my own home, with a 10 month old (born prem) baby. The parts were not available and even if I had a million pounds I/the plumber couldn't have got them any quicker.
I didn't have money for a hotel or anywhere else to go so we just had to suck it up and make do for a few days.
It was inconvenient but hardly the end of the world so, yes, I do think it is hugely entitled to be demanding a hotel stay from day one🤷‍♂️

You don't have a plumbers merchant that's open on a Saturday 🤷🏻‍♀️

She should be offered them actually and shouldn't have to ask.

But if you rent, that's one of the few advantages. You don't have to save up for the new boiler and the LL has to sort it ASAP

Yes, but they close at 12pm and are fully closed on Sundays.

The LL should have emergency home cover. The OP’s situation is not acceptable.

But even emergency cover can't magic parts out of nowhere.

No, I didn't. I bedded down in a sleeping bag in the warmest room of the house and waited for the parts to arrive. Boiled kettles to wash with and shampoo my hair.

Not a massive inconvenience.

The LL should have home emergency cover

But emergency cover is not the same as getting a same day fix. It addresses the immediate problem, identifies work to do and puts a plan in place. A lot of plumbing suppliers are not open all weekend and may not carry all parts for all models, especially if a few years old. Ideally it can all happen in one appointment but realistically often not, no matter who is responsible.

Emergency cover doesn't mean that someone can turn up and immediately repair your appliance no matter what's wrong with it.

It means that someone can turn up, stop any leaks or immediate danger, figure out what needs doing and either repair (if they have the parts), order new parts or arrange a replacement.

Having to wait 2-3 days for a repair is very normal, especially on the weekend.

Even an emergency plumber can't magic the right parts. It used to be easier when there were more actual shops but so much is online now.
He should have offered a couple of heaters, but you should also have asked if he didn't. Ask him now. And if he cant get to a shop to buy you a couple before closing time, and you can't afford to buy one, go on to Freecycle, or Facebook marketplace or Preloved or any of those sites and see if you can get one.
It's not ideal but these things happen and you can't be passive about it.

This!

Some responses on this thread remind me of the episode of friends where Ross tries to bribe the superintendent to get the radiator fixed when in reality he just couldn't get the parts any quicker

Definitely ask the landlord for some plug in heaters op

Exactly! I don't know what world some of these posters live in. Presumably one where they have never had to get a faulty boiler fixed.

This is exactly why I’d never be a landlord. Tenants who expect a magic wand to fix things and solve problems at a speed superior to homeowners would really piss me off.

Nothing worse than being cold and no hot water, with young children. I’ve been in that situation at several times.

I'm not saying it's not unpleasant. I'm just saying, with the best will in the world, the landlord couldn't have done better. Parts have to be ordered. That's how it works.

Nobody's saying it's a great way to spend a November weekend, just that it's one of those things you have to put up with sometimes.