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Original poster

Tenants' rights - no hot water

33 replies

Flutterby63 · 24/12/2019 12:42

I moved into a brand new, new build flat with new immersion boiler last week. I've had four times this past week where there was no hot water.

The landlord (via a managing agency) has been good about getting it fixed each time but I'm worried about it going off again on Christmas Day or Boxing Day. They say they monitor their answering phone and emails for emergencies but I'm not convinced.

Looking at the law I think lack of hot water should be dealt with in 24 hours or less, so if I don't hear back from them would I be within my rights to get someone to look at it and then ask for reimbursement?

Any other advice?

OP posts:
katmarie · 24/12/2019 12:49

Do you know what is causing the hot water issue? Four failures in a week is pretty poor. I'm just wondering if it's something you could be reasonably expected to mitigate against or whether its completely out of your control.

Pilot12 · 24/12/2019 12:50

The law says that your landlord has to fix it within a reasonable amount of time. It is not illegal not to have hot water for 24 hours, you can boil a kettle, your dishwasher/washing machine/electric shower/heating will still work.

Our boiler got a leak last week and our insurance company were happy for us not to have any water at all for five days (it took the engineer four days to get the part so this was acceptable as it was being dealt with).

As long as your landlord has called someone out to look at it it is acceptable to wait a few days for someone to be available to fix it.

On Christmas Day and Boxing Day plumbers and engineers would normally be on call for emergencies only - burst pipes, people's houses flooding etc. No hot water is not an emergency.

PigletJohn · 24/12/2019 13:32

I can think of a couple of possible causes

Please post photos of your hot-water cylinder, and the cap(s) oc the immersion heater(s), and the wiring, switches and any timers.

Does you flat have electric storage heaters?

Did the tap water get surprisingly hot before it went off?

How old is the building?

Original poster
Flutterby63 · 24/12/2019 13:53

Thanks all. They've given me some vague replies about an issue with the wiring but I'm not sure what is wrong exactly despite asking.

@Pilot12 According to this it says it can be classed as an emergency (and surely 4 days out of 7 without hot water because of the same issue is unreasonable)? www.thetenantsvoice.co.uk/advice_from_us/heating-and-hot-water/

@PigletJohn I'm not at home just now but will take pics. It doesn't seem to have an external fittings, it looks like you have to unscrew bits to get the fittings and wires but will check. Not sure if water got very hot as it was working fine in the morning and when I tried it in the evening it was cold (although v slightly warmer than the cold tap).

The flats are converted offices, possibly built in the 1960s or 70s, maybe even newer but not sure.

OP posts:
PigletJohn · 24/12/2019 14:12

cold in the evening? what colour is it?

have your heard or seen water running, e.g. from an overflow?

Original poster
Flutterby63 · 24/12/2019 14:17

Clear water but it was just last night that it was cold and then still cold tonight. Other times I've woken up and it's cold in the morning even though it was fine the night before.

No I can't hear water.

OP posts:
Original poster
Flutterby63 · 24/12/2019 14:18

Sorry I mean stil cold today.

OP posts:
frillyfarmer · 24/12/2019 14:19

I'd call the letting agent NOW and ask them to email their out of hours emergency procedure for tenants, any decent agency will have one and it usually states that if their out of hours contractor can't attend, they will reimburse you for any call outs.

No hot water is a genuine emergency- I don't think any letting agent would try to dispute that!

Dazedandconfused10 · 24/12/2019 14:21

No hot water isn't an emergency. If you own a property if a plumber can't get to you you have to wait. Same when you rent, you don't get special treatment because you are a tenant (not saying you think this) if you report it and they are proactive woth fixing it there isn't much more the agent can do.

Original poster
Flutterby63 · 24/12/2019 14:53

Thanks all. According to the Tenants' Rights website it can be classified as an emergency. But as I asked in my original post, I want to know what happens if it breaks down for a fifth time and the out of hours response is poor (their emergency number message says they'll do their best to monitor their emails and phones over the period but I can't see anyone checking emails on Christmas Dad).

OP posts:
Original poster
Flutterby63 · 24/12/2019 14:53

www.thetenantsvoice.co.uk/advice_from_us/heating-and-hot-water/

OP posts:
slipperywhensparticus · 24/12/2019 14:55

Follow pigletjohns advice its bang on x

Thegirlhasnoname · 24/12/2019 14:58

I’ve just had no running hot water for the past 2 weeks and though the landlord classed it as a priority (especially as we’ve a baby in the house), it doesn’t slip into emergency status unless you have no access to hot water at all - be this from a kettle or electric shower.

Good luck getting to the route cause!

Yoohoo16 · 24/12/2019 14:59

If it goes wrong again I think you’ll end up having to wait until between Christmas and new year.
I feel your pain though, we’re currently day 4 of no heating or hot water. Plumber can come Friday though, to hopefully fix it.

crochetandshit · 24/12/2019 15:13

Just regarding the 24hr thing, as far as I am aware, it is 24 hours for an initial visit, not to solve the issue.
If parts that the trades person needs have to be ordered and not considered van stock for example.
Do you have an electric shower?

PigletJohn · 24/12/2019 15:13

I meant, what colour is the hot-water cylinder?

Original poster
Flutterby63 · 24/12/2019 15:27

Oh sorry! Blush Here's a pic (it's an OSO Hotwater). The plumber is here at the mo. He said he put a new thermostat in (the one you can see) that was from a new cylinder. He's now got another brand new one from the manufacturer that he's put in. He said something about putting it on at "60 rather than full whack in case it burns out again"?!

The thermostat is hidden away though (you need a screwdriver to access it).

Tenants' rights - no hot water
OP posts:
mencken · 24/12/2019 17:02

tenant's voice is a front for one of the deposit protection recovery vultures, not that landlords who don't protect deposits deserve everything they get. They say in their small print that they are not providing legal advice. Forget them.

the actual legals are in your how to rent guide.

There's no law about a 24 hour fix or visit - how could there be? On planet reality you don't get fixit men within 24 hours unless you are the queen. The obligation on the landlord is to fix as soon as possible, and you can enforce via the council if they don't. Councils will all now be shut until Jan 2. Your management company may well define different levels of emergency/priority. An emergency is of course a medical one, a crime or a fire, clue is in the 24 hour services that we all get.

the simple solution is for all rentals to have two sources of hot water and two of heat. The property I rent out does. That is a standard that would be worth Shelter looking into, but I don't think they will...
meantime you've got pigletjohn, and I see the plumber has arrived - amazing.

mencken · 24/12/2019 17:03

first paragraph is missing a negative. Landlords that don't protect deposits DO deserve everything they get.

Original poster
Flutterby63 · 24/12/2019 18:44

Thanks all for the advice. Hoping that it lasts more than a day this time.

OP posts:
PigletJohn · 24/12/2019 19:43

I rather suspect the previous stat was set too high, and the overheat cutout tripped. In this event you should have noticed that the water was scalding.

It should be impossible for an immersion heater or its switch to "burn out." It should just turn off when target temperature reached. The element is very much like the one in a kettle, and they've been known to boil water under certain fault conditions. Yours is quite modern so it has overheat protection to prevent that. Boiling water is quite dangerous.

however, I notice that your cylinder looks unusually small, and would not be able to fill a bath or run a long shower. Perhaps it was turned up so that you would mix in more cold. Can you see the capacity? Should be stated in litres but if not i can estimate it from height and diameter.

Original poster
Flutterby63 · 24/12/2019 21:45

@PigletJohn Thanks for the advice. I was told when I moved in I'd probably only be able to take a quick shower of 7 or 8 mins. I don't have a bath in the bathroom. I do like my shower quite hot though so maybe it was that. I didn't notice the water was scolding the last time I used it but will be careful not to make the water too hot in future.

The plumber said he could make it hotter than 60 if I wanted but he advised against it. So that would mean it would be better for him to have made it hotter so I could run the shower longer, no?

He's put all the stuff back on with a screwdriver now unfortunately.

OP posts:
PigletJohn · 24/12/2019 22:05

60C is normal and hot enough. You don't want to faint in the shower and be discovered boiled like a lobster.

maybe you have a thermostic shower that blends cold water in. You would have to run a (single) hot tap and hold a thermometer in the jet to discover actual water temp.

What are the dimensions of your cylinder?

johnd2 · 25/12/2019 14:01

Yes bear in mind if its a new dwelling it would have to have a thermostatic mixer to limit the temperature of the water delivered at the hot t ap in the bath/shower for safety reasons under building regs.

johnd2 · 25/12/2019 14:02

From memory the kitchen tap would be exempt from the mixer requirements so measure the temperature there

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