Broken boiler. No response from landlord in two days. What can I do?

[HollyDayDream]

Landlord lives abroad and has provided the name of an assistant on my tenancy agreement I should contact with any issues.

I emailed the assistant Friday evening when I got in from work and noticed an error code on the boiler (Google tells me it’s not an easy fix). No hot water or heating. Something to do with overheating and a pump.

I got an email back from the assistant Saturday afternoon apologising but they are no longer responsible for my property and have given me a name and number for someone I could “try” instead. I called and text this new person yesterday and have had no response.

What do I do? I realise it’s now a bank holiday weekend and the person may not even look at their work phone until Tuesday and see my messages. But shouldn’t I have the name and number of someone for emergency issues? Why wasn’t I alerted there was a change in contact details from what’s on my tenancy agreement?

We currently have no hot water or heating. Needing to boil a kettle to get some water for a wash (as the electric shower runs off the boiler).

The agency who arranged the tenancy is now no longer involved as they only let it out but don’t manage it. They don’t have any updated contact information for the landlord’s assistant either.

Do I:

a) wait until Tuesday and assume they’ll respond to me then?

b) Contact the landlord abroad even though my tenancy agreement says only to contact his assistant?

c) Arrange an engineer myself and direct them to bill the landlord? Will an engineer even start a job without permission from the property owner and an agreement they will pay?

Not sure if I’m just being impatient given that it’s a bank holiday weekend but I want a proper wash before work on Tuesday!

Since you did contact the assistant and they have said they no longer are the assistant you can contact the landlord

*Do I:

a) wait until Tuesday and assume they’ll respond to me then?

b) Contact the landlord abroad even though my tenancy agreement says only to contact his assistant?

c) Arrange an engineer myself and direct them to bill the landlord? Will an engineer even start a job without permission from the property owner and an agreement they will pay?*

The landlord's right not to be disturbed by you became void when they decided to change assistant without informing you. So yes, contact the landlord and inform them of the situation, explaining that you have no choice but to contact them directly.

Re the fault itself, no I don't think you can instruct an engineer and expect them to bill someone else, they're just not going to do it. But as you're without heating and hot water, it's an emergency repair, so you'd be within your rights to have the necessary repairs carried out and pay for them yourself, then attempt to reclaim the cost from your landlord. In your shoes, that's what I'd do.

And boil a kettle filll the sink and scrub down that way or go swimming (shower before and after)

Contact the landlord directly, point out they need to keep you updated on contact changes and ask them to get back to you w/in 24 hours.

contact citizens advice on tues to find out where you stand on getting the work done yourself and then claiming it back - although it probably won’t come to that.

you would very possibly have to wait a few days regardless because even if a plumber came out, they might not be able to instantly fix. You could try calling an emergency plumber, but you may get landed with the bill.

so it might be a cold shower or a visit to a friend / leisure centre for work on Tuesday. It happens occasionally.

Contact the landlord direct.
The fact the person you thought you should contact is no longer responsible, means you should contact the the landlord for clarity. Only they can tell you who to deal with.

A boiler is an essential repair . I wouldn’t organise a repair myself until I exhausted talking to landlord.

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/how_to_report_repairs_to_a_private_landlord

Those posters saying it’s fine and to use a swimming baths !
no it’s not - private rents are £1000s of pounds a month .
Private landlords in my opinion should have a service agreement with a company so repairs are carried out promptly.
Those people who look down from their lofty heights at anyone they perceive to be unable to afford a house are scum
and will have a special place in heaven.

as a former private renter who had to put up with no end of shit trying to get my crap useless landlady to do any repairs whatsoever this post has a special place in my heart and i couldnt agree more with every word

Thanks for the prompt replies!

Well, I have emailed the landlord on the email address provided in the tenancy agreement and it has just bounced back as undeliverable. No phone number.

So it looks like the only contact I have is his former assistant. I have sent her another email asking her to please give me any further information she has about who I can report my broken boiler to. So I'm relying on her good will.

Really frustrating. The landlord has a company address listed alongside their bank details for rent payments, so I have googled them and got a company address. I have no idea of my landlord's position within the company, but hoping that they're able to forward my email to him.

So it looks like I'll be having no working boiler for a short while then since I've still technically not managed to report the fault to someone who can take action.

Swimming pool is a good shout. I'll head over at some point today and on Tuesday morning before work with the teenager.

stop waiting for responses to emails, get the problem fixed and pay it from next month’s rent.
When I was a landlord I’d have had no issue with this-although we had an emergency contract to cover this kind of thing, it cost a whole £15 a month

I agree with this - in fact it's how we do stuff in our rented house, however our LL is not uncontactable and very lazy laid back!

I'm scared to do something like this though for risk of breaching my tenancy agreement and potentially being faced with eviction. I love this property, it's a long-term let and I really don't want to move. There's just a significant issue with communication right now which I don't think is helped with it being a bank holiday weekend.

I'll call Shelter and the council on Tuesday if I'm no further forward. The Citizen's Advice website says those should be my next steps.

Does your contract have a clause about emergency repairs?

Unfortunately I think you are certainly stuck over the BH weekend though, as most tenants AND homeowners would be, even with home emergency cover.

Our last landlord was great and had British Gas cover which we could book directly, but BG were always "extremely busy". I think the quickest they attended us was 6 working days despite no heating or hot water.

This is what it says regarding emergency repairs:

REPAIR TIMETABLE
The Tenant undertakes to notify the Landlord as soon as is reasonably practicable of the need for any repair or emergency. The Landlord is responsible for carrying out necessary repairs as soon as is reasonably practicable after having been notified of the need to do so.
The Tenant must allow the Landlord reasonable access to the Let Property to enable the Landlord to fulfil their duties under the repairing standard (see the clause on ‘Access for Repairs’).
PAYMENT FOR REPAIRS
The Tenant will be liable for the cost of repairs where the need for them is attributable to his or her fault or negligence, that of any person residing with him or her, or any guest of his or hers.

So I don't want to get a repairperson in until I know who their contact is for the bill. Especially in case the boiler needs replaced or something. That's not something I'm able to make decisions about as a tenant.

I'm resigning myself to not hearing anything until at least Tuesday. Then I'll use my lunchbreak to call everyone and everything I can think of. Until then, swimming pool today and Tuesday morning is a great suggestion. If i can get a session booked!

Thanks everyone.

Contact the landlord. You've no other option. They would of been aware the assistant is no longer dealing with the property so it's their own fault.