No heating or hot water

[DMMMJ]

Bit of a long one

Does anyone know where we would stand in terms of getting moved quicker? Also are they allowed to leave you without hot water or heating and no sign of any temporary heating.

Lived in the same property for over 7 years and apart from a new boiler and kitchen being fitted 7 years ago due to no hot water or heating anything that needed fixed or upgraded in the property we have done ourselfs because the Landlord is very hard to deal with.

Bit of background.

We have had nothing but hell with the boiler since it was installed as the landlord paid a cowboy to fit it and round 2 years ago I was heavily pregnant the boiler was making a noise as if it was going to blow up so called the landlord asked for someone to be sent out and instead he decided to come and see if he could fix it himself, while being in the property for the first time since we had recenetly redecorated he kept commenting on how much he charges for other properties much smaller and not as nicely decorated as ours (baring in mind it was us that decorated it and paid for everything) a few days later the landlord phoned me saying as of next month you will pay me £100 extra per month rent or you will be evicted. Now I'm aware that this is not how an eviction takes place or a rent increase. Both have to be done in writing and we have the option to appeal so I told the landlord this and nothing ever came back from it. He sent out a gas engineer the boiler was fixed and we've had no contact since.

Now fast forward to now the boiler is faulty again I'm heavily pregnant (over my due date) we have a 10 year old and 22 month old in the property and have no heating or hot water. The gas man has been up and temporarily fixed the issue but again today the hot water and heating has went off. Youngest DC is on antibiotics for chest issues and is loaded with the cold. Contacted the landlord who said someone would be out at half 8 tonight, half 9 tonight I get a message saying that they have taken on another job so it won't be until tomorrow now baring in mind they have know about the issue all day and said half 8 so they've only taken the job on after knowing that we were waiting.

We have been on the waiting list for a council property for quite a while as will soon be over crowded once little one makes an appearance, the council are allowing us to apply for 3 bedrooms but we are always unsuccessful because the baby isn't actually here yet so we aren't actually awarded any overcrowded points so any property we apply for there is always someone in need of it more but I'm just wondering if this whole situation with the landlord would possibly get us moved quicker and if so how do I go about it.

We both work full time so have always paid the rent ourself. Worked it out tonight and over the years we have paid over £50,000 to the landlord and all I'm asking for in return is a hot home for my kids.

If you've got this far I appreciate it 🙏

We once, as a private owner, spent 5 days with no heating or hot water in the middle of winter due to a boiler issue. We have someone with a serious disability and chest issues in the house. That wasn’t deemed unreasonable, it bloomin felt like it I can tell you!
There is some advice here if you are in the U.K.

https://scotland.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/heating_hot_water#:~:text=There%27s%20no%20set%20time%20for,landlord%20to%20agree%20to%20it.

I dont think waiting a few days for heating and hot water is unreasonable at all, it can take that long to find someone to get it fixed.

(as a home owner, we once had to go 2 years without, and it was perfectly manageable)

Thanks for your responses I think with everything else going on within the house and now the heating and hot water going off I've just reached breaking point.

The seals around both back and front door dont work so an awful draft comes through the both doors which don't help the situation but that's another issue reported to the landlord which hasn't been fixed either. The electrics are faulty and plug sockets and lights just stop working but again it has been brought to his attention and he choses to ignore it.

@Nimbostratus100 he has someone to fix it which is a relative who only recently qualified. Previous to this he was hiring people and not paying them which then resulted in no one willing to take on any job from him. His relative actually told me when he was here temporarily fixing the problem that he hasn't been paid from him for any jobs he has done in his properties either.

We’ve just done a whole winter without central heating, or a gas supply during a refurb, luckily we have a log burner a camping stove and an electric shower
We also have a disabled child
Fortunately for you, your LL has to provide you with hot water and a heat source within 24 hours
a kettle and a fan heater may be heading your way 😂

@Japanesejazz I bet your glad its all sorted now? I won't be holding my breathe for the landlord to turn up with anything 🤣 there will be more chance of me winning the lottery and I don't even out it on

Goodness, your LL is an arsehole. There are limits to how long a court will accept a home being without heating or HW but I think it's probably two/three weeks or so.

Can you

A) Buy some secondhand oil filled radiators on FB marketplace (approx £10-15 each)? Use sparingly, they are expensive to run

B) Boil many saucepans for a shallow daily bath?

I had to do that for three weeks once in November. Maybe a microwave would be quicker.

You don't need that stress of moving whilst pregnant so tread carefully with your LL.

I would call the council and tell them about the boiler and lack of hot water, say you are extremely concerned about the baby coming early and not being able to bathe it, see if they move you up the list.

Terrible landlord however getting trades people out isn't easy for anyone and landlords can't generally just wave a magic want - it would be interesting to see how long it would take British Gas to come out if there was a landlord's service contract in place - it's very unlikely to be same day. You've known for years the landlord is awful so there must be a reason you've stayed. I would hazard a guess that the rent hasn't really gone up in the time you've been in the property and you would have to pay so much more to move elsewhere - it's been a compromise you've been willing to make so do have to accept a bit of responsibility for that choice. There are many rules for landlord's so it might be worth checking if they have been followed because you could use any discrepancy to gain financially. Is the deposit registered with an approved scheme including a maximum of 5 weeks held (rules on amounts have changed in the last 7 years), is a gas safety inspection carried out annually and is there a valid electrical inspection (rules only changed in last couple of years)?

@notquitesoyoung We are unable to be moved as the house " is suitable" for our needs so any house we have applied for through our local housing has been unsuccessful because the property we are in is big enough. Believe me we have not stayed here for the want of not trying to get out. There was no gas safety carried out since the boiler was fitted, this was only done a few months ago due to the relative becoming newly qualified. The electrics have never been inspected. I once called the landlord about lighting flickering in the hall when switched on, an electrician came up cut out the light and said the electrics were faulty and would need rewired and that he would be back up I'm sure this was about 5 years ago potentially and no matter how many times I've brought it up or the new issues about electrics no one has ever been sent out to resolve it.

Id be far more worried about the electrics - have you called the council? sounds like a job for environmental health. Faulty electrics puts your family in immediate danger, lack of heating and hotwater does not

dont plug in any sort of electric heater if the electrics are faulty

Waiting lists where we live are 15 years plus, no priority if u have more children whilst on the list, lack of boiler won’t move u up the list, and there are 8 people living in student accommodation which is a flat for 1 person with shared kitchen and bathrooms, and even they can’t get anywhere to live.

Contact your local council and ask how you can make a complaint. If your landlord still won't fix the problem, contact your nearest Citizens Advice.