What should a housing landlord be doing in this situation !!

[Dodooodo]

Situation is as followed

block of flats with 6 flats in total, a water pipe burst in the block and 3 flats water went off due to someone trying to stop the leak damaging there stop clock things.
the fire brigade came as it was a lot of water and they contacted Thames water and the landlord association - they both came out so fire brigade left but then so did the housing and Thames water and said nothing they could do. The amount of water coming out was insane and the fire brigade returned at 2 am and stayed until morning around 8 am when someone arrived to try and stop it.
eventually at 2 pm today he managed to secure the pipe off which meant the other 3 flats lost their water. He made it clear to us that he would not fix the actual system and this meant that the 2 options they had was to turn everyone’s water back on but that would require them to allow the “ flooding “ again or keep the pipe the way it was and no one has any water.
the housing was not responding to phone calls and if they did were saying well just wait. Eventually after 28 hours of no water they sent 4 bottles of water per houshold and told us their duty was done. It’s now 36 hours of no water and they have no one to fix the problem so have said that’s all they can do !

Is this acceptable or should they be offering more support ?

Whose responsibility is the repair?

Depends if it's the landlords or water boards job to repair it.

Whoever owns the freehold to the block should probably do the repair? Can you contact your council’s housing officer urgently? Having no water is completely unacceptable.

repairs that are internal to the flats are down to owner/landlord. Water company tends to be responsible for repairs, issues & pipes up to the building.

its not clear where the repair is. Or if its owners or landlord, it depends on each flat.

every housing association or council has 24/7 emergency contact details for emergency repairs but initially it will be making safe.

contact them!

No it is not acceptable.
The duty to reinstate the supply sits with either the water company or the landlord depending on where the issue is. You should be provided with enough bottled water in this situation.

You say 'landlord association' so is this social housing? Are all flats in the building owned by the same organisation?

I suggest you ring Shelter today, or go to the Citizens Advice Bureau. Also email your ward councillor and MP today.

Shelter/CAB will advise you if rent can be withheld in your situation - never do this unless you have been told the law covers you.

So it’s the same landlord throughout but it’s half social and half private flats but the same association.
water Thames said she to boundary it’s not their issue. The pipe is inside the building.

They have been contacted no less than 20 times by 7 different people.

It will go to someone's insurance, do the residents each have their own insurance or is it the landlord? Who exactly caused the damage? And who broke the stop cock? It could get quite complicated if some flats are private, with their own insurance and some are rented and relying on the landlords insurance. I would pay for what you need and keep a record and proof of purchase to present to the insurer's when the dust settles.

So the pipe burst yesterday? If they know where the repair is I would expect them to make it today but I’m not sure you could reasonably expect it to have been made yesterday?

The buildings insurance will be the same for the whole building. It’s only the contents insurance that would be held separately.

Try citizens advice for the way to move forward, if it's serious flooding the residents may have to move out while the flats are dried out and repaired.

This sounds like an emergency hazard. Due to the new law your HA must resolve the issue within 24 hours if they can’t they should provide temporary accommodation

This needs to go through building insurance. In flats this is usually through the management company.

He has to fix the problem, or it renders your accommodation unfit for human habitation. I would contact the council again first thing this morning and possibly your MP if they are failing to act properly.

I would also get together with your neighbours and email the landlord collectively - reminding him under the Landlord and Tennant Act 1985 he is obliged to ensure the property has running water and if it does not have this it will render the property "unfit for human habitation" under the 2018 act and he will have to provide alternative accommodation until the issue is rectified.

So there are three places a water pipe can be

1. Outside the building - that it is Thames Water's responsibility to fix.

1. Inside a flat - that is the responsibilty of the flat owner to fix.

1. Inside the building but running through a communal area (known as water risers) - that is the responsibility of the freeholder of the building to fix.

Where is the broken pipe located?

Contact your local councillor, MP and newspaper- the housing association may suddenly find a way to meet its basic obligations.

We are landlords to a 2nd floor flat which had water coming through the living room ceiling from the flat above. It’s a problem with their balcony. Happens when it’s heavy rain and the wind blows from South.
The owner refused entry to the factor (council) and would not arrange another day to inspect.
We cannot intervene as it’s the factor who does repairs therefore the councils responsibility. They’re having to write to her to force her to allow entry.
not sure if this could be the case here.

Yep a freeholder can force entry and do repairs if it is causing problems to other parts of the building.

In the OPs case even if the burst pipe is inside a flat and the responsibility of the flat owner, the freeholder needs to work to resolve the situation as having to keep the water off until the broken pipe is repaired is impacting other building residents.

Do pay a service charge for the block? If so you need to contact the asset management team within your housing association.

There is a few matters to deal with, who is responsible for the faulty water pipe?, is it located in one flat or is it a communal pipe? If it is located in one flat, is that flat owned by the housing association or the private renter/owner - this is important.

if the pipework is the responsibility of a private landlord then they would be responsible for the repair as the service charge is to maintain the maintenance of the block (to keep it wind and water tight) this would not include internal burst pipe as these would be classed as internal fixtures and fittings and would not come under the service charge.

Are you part of the housing association or are you private renting/owner? If social housing, you come under Awabbs law which means you cannot be without hot water/water for more than 24 hours and the property could be deemed inhabitable which could mean a temporary relocation under Awabbs law policies.

Personally I’d ask to speak to the HA complaints department on seeking a resolution and to get your MP involved.

We would need more info as being part owned by the HA and owners complicates matters.

Even for the privately owned flats they will be leasehold not freehold and usually the freeholder arranges the buildings insurance and then divides the cost among the leaseholders (as part of their ground rent or service charge) and the tenants (as part of their rent). Is it possible that the original incident was something excluded by the Ts&Cs of the insurance? Or is it possible that the freeholder failed to buy insurance?

Thames Water are water engineers, not plumbers. Their responsibility is to maintain the public main running along under the road. Their responsibility ends at the external stop tap in the pavement or boundary of the property. They will assist a plumber to do a repair by turning off the water at the external stop tap if the plumber is unable to do so or failing that they will turn off the valve that cuts off the entire street.

Apologies, I’ve just realised you are in Scotland and Awabbs Law does not come into effect until March 26.

In the communal block but the pipe that burst belongs to the flat next door to the block.
It burst Monday at 5 pm no water since.

So this is the biggest issue Thames water and the association can not find the external stop tap to do the repair. No one can find it … how is that even possible - who knows !

So the pipe is in a neighbouring property, with a different freeholder? In that case, it's not your landlord's responsibility to fix, it is the other party, and if they refuse, your landlord might have to take them to court or via Environmental Health to gain access.

The hidden stop tap is relatively normal, they get covered by vegetation, etc. Have a look where other stop taps are located on your street - you might see them on the pavement, then have a look in the same area for yours, chances are it's just been hidden.