How long is it reasonable to leave a tenant without hot water?

[Noonado]

Just that really. The problem with boiler was reported by tenant, and diagnosed and action advised by a professional within 12 hours.

I would have thought that that is a reasonable time - they have only had one morning without having the ability to have a hot shower!

I would say up to 24 hrs would be reasonable in most circumstances. It might not be nice if they had been for a run, got back and no hot water. But what happened if a total boiler replacement was required? That could have taken days and it does happen to plenty of people who have to muddle through.

action advised by a professional within 12 hours

Do you mean that the problem was fixed within 12 hours? If yes then that’s absolutely fine.
Or do you mean that the professional has diagnosed but not actually fixed the problem for some reason and now you’re trying to work out how long is acceptable to leave the tenant? If that’s the case I’d say max 24 hours.

Action advised - what does that mean? How long was the hot water actually then not available for?

I'm a tenant and went 8 days without hot water or heating in October last year - I still paid full rent etc, Landlord was behaving reasonably. Told him the boiler broke, he got British Gas round the next day who said they would come back the next day with the right part. They did, it still didn't work and they said it needed to be replaced. He got 3 quotes in over the next 2 days, booked one in who could start the soonest (3 days later) etc. I'd be pissed if the landlord hadn't been bothered or had done nothing, but all of the delays were outside of his control. Essentially I think the answer was "If I was the owner of this property, could I have sorted it quicker", and if the answer is no, then I have no issue with my landlords response time.

Key information missing

was the problem actually RESOLVED?

Addressed without delay. Depending on the nature of the problem, that could mean a variety of lengths of time.

so the scenario in op is good up to the point of “action advised by professional”, but was that action taken immediately?

My db owns his home but was without hot water for more than a week recently.

Unless the tenant is vulnerable, a few days is alright, as long as the phone call/booking has been made on the day that the issue was reported (ie immediately).

Yes, sorry, should have expanded on that; gas engineer advised the landlord on what needed to be done on the sale day that the tenant reported the problem. I was wondering how long it should take the landlord to make a decision and act on that advice.

*same day, not sale day!

I think we actually went 12 days without heating issues being resolved when we were renting. It was winter too, so felt especially horrific. I think a resolution within 24-48 would be acceptable.

something should be booked within an hour or two. That may not mean for the next day and parts may need to be ordered, but at that point the landlord should not be a point of delay. It also shouldn’t be with the landlords buddy who will get to it when he has some time off in a couple of weeks (btdt).

if it’s a very big job, the landlord could take a day or two to get a couple of quotes and pick a contractor.

I think it depends, if the tenant has an electric shower then I believe that the rest of the hot water could wait 3 days. But otherwise it should be resolved within 24 hours if parts available.

Took a week for us to get a new boiler installed after the initial consultation all the plumbers were snowed under.

In one of our properties our landlord once left us without hot water for a whole week!!!

As little time as is practically possible. This sort of thing is no time to fanny about. The LL in this situation needs to get the information, then get something booked pronto.

I waited six weeks for hot water and heating.
It was not fun

What @Birkenshock said - but with a special place in hell reserved for landlords who go silent for weeks on end and then get a mate to bodge a job on what should be a condemned boiler. Extra boiling oil if it's winter, and extra torment if there are young children/elderly/care needs.

My emergency cover would get the hot water back on within the day for my rental. Everything is serviced and updated regularly so there shouldn't be anything that isn't a simple fix.

As long as you're pursuing it diligently and in good faith then as long as it takes.

Sometimes spare parts take a while to come for older boilers. Sometimes major work is needed, like a new gas main and boiler. Shit happens, whatever your legal status is in your home - owner or tenant. The landlord's duty is satisfied by diligent good faith, not by restoring hot water in 24 hours.

I'd say ideally a few days, but up to a week if LL is being proactive and has arranged for the fix to be done or is waiting for a part etc. If appointments etc aren't available immediately that is fair enough, but it should be progressing. In our own house we had to wait 3 days for a relatively small problem to be sorted just because we had to get someone out and that was when they could come.

It is dependent on the occupants, the LTA ‘85 just says a ‘reasonable time’. Elderly or very young residents I’d expect it to be done much quicker than two adults.

Do you not have an immersion heater?

I suspect you are the tenant and think your landlord isn't moving fast enough.

I'm a landlord and have emergency boiler cover, so an engineer can come out and diagnose a problem within 24 hours - shutting down the system if they deem it necessary.
After that, the job of finding an available and willing plumber is mine and it's a nightmare! Most gas safety engineers are booked weeks in advance and then there's also the issue of sourcing parts etc.

Our boiler at home broke down recently and we were without hot water for a week, and we were chasing plumbers every day!

Does the tenant have an immersion heater for the tank? If so, then it's not such an urgent job.

I was wondering how long it should take the landlord to make a decision and act on that advice.

As soon as possible. That can be a nightmare with supply chain issues for parts and lack of good plumbers. But they should decide and act very quickly.

I'm with a HA and they have someone out within 6 hours of reporting and then should be fixed 24 hours after that initial call. I waited 3 days because the boiler needed a part that they had to order, couldn't be helped no matter how pissed off I was, they provided me with a couple of heaters (winter) but the boiler is our only source of hot water, so we boiled kettles etc and I'm in the lucky position to be able to shower at work.

The biggest thing though was that they kept me up to date with what was happening so I knew I hadn't been forgotten and the part was fitted at 8pm one night because I couldn't get time off work at short notice so they worked around me. I really appreciated that.

Private rent I was left without heating for 3 weeks while the LL waited for the cheapest option to be available, didn't affect him as it wasn't him that was cold. Luckily we had an electric shower so that helped but again was winter and it was damned cold. I didn't appreciate that as he still wanted the full rent despite not providing the service I was paying for.