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Original poster

New build flat is boiling hot. Feeling depressed

190 replies

FTBregret · 29/05/2025 18:17

Just bought my first home, a small flat in London. Only just got keys last week and I hate it due to how disgustingly hot it is. Really regret it and feel so stupid for not knowing new build flats get this hot

So far I’ve removed all carpets (will only have laminate floors) all windows left shut during the day and kept all curtains closed to block out sunlight. Also tried fan with icy water in front and barely helped.

It’s still unbearably hot, thermostat currently showing 30°

I’m scared the worse is yet to come as I know it gets hotter in London and if we have a heatwave I will have to get an Airbnb or something.

I haven’t even got furniture yet so that will likely make it hotter too when I properly move in. How will I ever use the oven?

I’ve been looking at air con but as I’m leasehold with Clarion it’s very unlikely the split AC will get accepted. There is another type of water air con but looking at quotes it’s 5k which I can’t afford.

I’ve looked at portable AC but I only have hinge windows and hinge balcony doors (apparently it’s supposed to be for sliding doors??)

How are londoners in new build flats coping?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
6
Newgirls · 01/06/2025 17:33

Have you got an outdoor pool near you? Go and enjoy that on hot days and look forward to low heating bills in autumn - and well done on your first home purchase!

JenniferBooth · 01/06/2025 17:52

DRose3 · 30/05/2025 00:28

It’s infuriating that so many are in this situation, I’m sorry! The posters saying you’re lucky in winter, no one wants to live in an oven most of the year.

Ours is disgustingly hot too, and we ended up buying a big portable aircon unit (worth its weight in gold), alongside the many small fans dotted around our apartment which are constantly on. You can make it work, as per the previous poster. Every year I pray for a cool Summer.

I would have traded my soul for some aircon when it reached over 40C in here, as it did so often in the summer. I recently wrote to my MP about this (drafted using AI), as it’s a health and safety concern that our government needs to address, and it’s a danger to my family & pets. I read an article recently about the gov needing to remedy this issue which is more commonplace in apartments due to rising temperatures.

I’ve heard of some apartments in London reaching over 50!

We never use our oven when it’s warm out, and avoid using big appliances (dishwasher, washing machine) during the hotter hours. Keeping lights off helps imo. Black out curtains tend to help a bit too. If you have windows on either side of your apartment try to get a current going by keeping them open, equally keeping windows shut helps.

Edited

Im in a one bedroom social housing flat Built in the 1970s. Its unbearable Our fridge freezer cannot cope with it and often stops working in the summer. Its fine in the winter. A PP said open the windows The HA put window restrictors on them so they dont open wide enough Only a couple of inches. The old windows were the slidey up ones Could get a breeze then.
Brits are expected to live in sweat boxes and then when we dare to mention air conditioning are told no cos the environment.

beenwhereyouare · 01/06/2025 18:45

FTBregret · 29/05/2025 18:52

I also have windows only on one side, I could try leaving front door open with wedge but unfortunately not a window in the corridor

Show quote history

Security risk, surely?

Get a portable air conditioner and the window kit before the furniture. You'll thank yourself in July.

JenniferBooth · 01/06/2025 19:09

Signs in the windows read Dont buy these flats. Too hot.

https://x.com/aidan_sheehan/status/1804527508722684041

https://x.com/aidan_sheehan/status/1804527508722684041

KievLoverTwo · 01/06/2025 19:17

Currently it’s 28.8° inside my flat with windows open. I haven’t used oven or anything. Meanwhile it’s supposed to be 18° outside.

Urgh. We just moved out of a house like this. The bricks were absorbing too much heat during the day. Go stand near an external wall at night and it was like standing next to a BBQ. The other half reckons it's partly because they weren't sealed/the seal had washed away. It was vile.

The only practical advice I can give is to keep your feet and the back of your neck cool. Hair up, flip flops on, and invest in a load of Avenue thermal water sprays to cool your face, feet and neck down. That stuff has saved my sanity on a bazillion occasions.

Lovemycat2023 · 02/06/2025 19:41

The standards of our housing is so shocking. I live in a 1930s house which is made of poor quality materials, and very hot in the summer and cold in the winter. But we should be doing better by now, and all the focus from govt is getting more houses and flats built, not better ones.

I know some people are saying the OP should wait for the benefits in winter, but I really struggle (health wise) with a hot home and it’s dangerous for older people, babies, and those on some medications.

JenniferBooth · 02/06/2025 19:59

Lovemycat2023 · 02/06/2025 19:41

The standards of our housing is so shocking. I live in a 1930s house which is made of poor quality materials, and very hot in the summer and cold in the winter. But we should be doing better by now, and all the focus from govt is getting more houses and flats built, not better ones.

I know some people are saying the OP should wait for the benefits in winter, but I really struggle (health wise) with a hot home and it’s dangerous for older people, babies, and those on some medications.

Yes and some medications cant be stored over a certain temperature yet also cant be stored in the fridge

Lovemycat2023 · 02/06/2025 21:12

JenniferBooth · 02/06/2025 19:59

Yes and some medications cant be stored over a certain temperature yet also cant be stored in the fridge

Show quote history

I didn’t know that - that’s very worrying.

EmeraldRoulette · 02/06/2025 21:57

@KievLoverTwo in new builds, often bricks are designed to do that - to absorb heat and expel it back out again indoors. It's ridiculous.

And the place gets progressively hotter over the summer. There's no benefit. I don't know who thinks of this crap.

It's 24 in here with the windows open. I really feel for you in 28. 24 is manageable.

KievLoverTwo · 02/06/2025 22:19

EmeraldRoulette · 02/06/2025 21:57

@KievLoverTwo in new builds, often bricks are designed to do that - to absorb heat and expel it back out again indoors. It's ridiculous.

And the place gets progressively hotter over the summer. There's no benefit. I don't know who thinks of this crap.

It's 24 in here with the windows open. I really feel for you in 28. 24 is manageable.

Added to that, the house had 12ft of flagstones or asphalt around it which also absorbs then radiates heat.

We're still designing houses and flats like climate change doesn't exist. Put bloody grass out there and you might stand a fighting chance.

JenniferBooth · 02/06/2025 22:22

No air conditioning also means ppl will just bathe and shower even more and as this is social housing ..............its a bath. Im just about to go and run yet another one. Consequences

EmeraldRoulette · 02/06/2025 23:10

@KievLoverTwo yes I hate the way asphalt bounces in the heat!

Original poster
FTBregret · 02/06/2025 23:36

JenniferBooth · 01/06/2025 19:09

Signs in the windows read Dont buy these flats. Too hot.

https://x.com/aidan_sheehan/status/1804527508722684041

Omg I live close by😂

OP posts:
StarDolphins · 02/06/2025 23:40

belladonna22 · 29/05/2025 18:32

Get a portable AC. Go to B&Q and get a piece of thick cavity insulation, cut it down so it fits perfectly into the gap of your hinge window when it’s open. Cut a hole in the insulation through which you can put the AC ventilation tube. Pull it out whenever you want to close the window.

This is great advice that I’m stealing! What a good idea, thanks!

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