Husband refuses to let workmen in to fix the central heating

[user1476041120]

Does anyone know legally what I can do here. My boiler broke in Sept 23. My husband tried to install a brand new boiler but did not complete the job at all.
Result - I have had NO central heating or hotwater all winter. Just a log burner was lit at night . I got a Corgi Regd plumber to come and quote to put it all right . But my husband has said he will not let him in to do the work !!!

I cant let the plumber turn up and be confronted with an angry husband but I am desperate to get the heating system put back in safely. I have tried to google for answers but cant seem to find any that don't want to charge me £50 / month Anyone got any ideas ?

Yes you can leave. Contact a solicitor for a one off consultation for approx £100 to £150. It will be the best money you ever spent. Better than hot water.

A judge can force a house sale btw.

@user1476041120 I feel your fear

you're both 70?

He's controlling?

Are you afraid of him physically?

Hi All these thoughts keep going round and round in my head - we have been married 50 years ! and he has always been difficult but this is the worst he has ever been - he will not sit down and discuss the solution to this problem he just rages at me swears and says he will get on with it - but this is just the tip of the iceberg - there are other unfinished projects in the house - but obvs not as important as heating / hot water.

Do you have any family /children that you can talk to about this?

adult social services is a good idea.

Is he qualified to work on the house?

If not, it’s a gas board issue- I think they will assess and issue a notice of some kind, and cut off the gas, hopefully forcing him to do it or be prosecuted.

Who else knows? Someone could report it anonymously….

Report this to environmental health at your local council and to the adult safeguarding team. You should not be made to live without hot water in your own home. And of course the courts can force a sale of you house if you divorce. Speak to a lawyer. You deserve to live in peace, safety, and comfort.

What would he do if you just went ahead and called someone out.
There is a lesson in this to all women who just wait and stay with someone until the kids are gone etc. Unreasonable husbands don’t get to retirement and decide to become decent.
Get to the council and get to a lawyer. Half the house is yours. It’s not TOO LATE!

OP, please don't stay just because you've been together a long time. As others have said speak to Women's Aid for support and advice and see a solicitor. The house is jointly owned so legally you will get half and then you can live in peace.
If your husband is getting worse you need to take action now, his behaviour is controlling and abusive. Do you have any children or relatives who can help you?

What do you are you expecting adult social care to do?

They have no more legal power to make OPs husband do something he doesn't want to do than the OP, and unless either of them lack capacity or have eligible care act needs or vulnerabilities meaning they were unable to protect themselves then they won't be eligible for support.

Just the fact that they are in their 70s isn't sufficent grounds for Adult Social Care to intervene in soneone elses marriage/legal issues any more than they would for someone in their 40s/50s/60s.

They would most likely just refer OP to citizens advice and to domestic abuse services which given she is posting on mumsnet she could probably do herself without wasting her time ringing adult social care first.

If the property is unsafe and poses a risk to the public then environmental health/ fireservice may take some enforcement action if they are made aware.

Re Women’s Aid, our local one has a lawyer booked in weekly to provide free 1/2 consultations for those facing domestic abuse. What he is doing is domestic abuse.

Forcing you to live like this, not allowing you to leave: this is all abuse. Please contact a domestic abuse charity for support so you can formulate a plan to leave.

if he has become more difficult lately could an illness be possible? It seems very odd not to want the heating fixed.

I thought the law said only a CORGI registered engineer could fit a boiler?

You poor darling having to put up with this in your own home.
I do hope you have supportive family nearby.
This is no way to live.

You only get one life.
Don't live it dancing to his tune,

You absolutely can divorce him and he can be made to sell the house, please go and speak to a solicitor for advice, you don’t have to live like this.

Don’t even tell him you’re having that conversation, go and get some advice and go from there, yes it will cost some money but if you have no mortgage once the house is sold you can pay it off.

Is there a time he won’t be in when the plumber can come? You can’t keep living with no heating and I’d be worried about the safety of whatever work he’s done on the boiler if it’s not working:(

Do you have family you could go and stay with? Do they know how awful he is to you?

What has the OP posted that leads you to believe that she would be eligible for a s.42 Safeguarding Enquiry from Adult Social Care?

And we so often see on here “he won’t agree to a divorce”. He means he’ll be difficult about it, but he can’t stop it happening. Yes it costs money to get the court involved, and that means both parties end up with less money. But you absolutely can divorce someone - it isn’t a process just for the amicable and reasonable!

Corgi doesn't exist anymore.

I think what the OP means is that it will cost a fortune and eat up the little that they have money wise.
It’s not an easy situation. And different than when you are in your 30s and gave time to rebuild yourself financially.

The risk for the OP is to be dire poverty with no housing.

The cost of using the legal route to force a sale will come out of joint finances. Given that he is too tight fisted to spend money on a plumber, I doubt he will want to put up a fight.
If he has always been this way, I think you know you should of and could of left him years ago, it's inaction that has lead to this.
It's never too late, however, and you should ignore his claims about the cost of it - he would say that, wouldn't he, given that he doesn't pay tradesmen either. Look into divorce and forcing a sale, or get him to have a GP assessment if the issue could be dementia setting in - how is his health?

The law gives you the option to leave and divorce him. I would be doing this if I was you

Can you contact your council housing services and see what options there are for over 60's accommodation. Often there are very short or no waiting lists and you could move out very soon.

You literally will not be able to sell the house if he installs the boiler, well, it will go under offer but the buyer's solicitors will ask for the appropriate certification.

Installation and certification needs to be done by a GasSafe heating engineer.

I would contact social services as this is abuse. Age UK have a helpline too.

He may well have cognitive decline and it won't get better. At your age, I would be looking to move into somewhere like an extra-care facility, as even if you are very fit and well now, it will cover you as you age and given you'd be on your own, is helpful.

You can definitely force a sale. Someone will buy the house but it would be better if the works were completed.

I take it he's not gas safe registered. I really hope you don't live in a semi or terrace property. He could have blown you and the poor neighbours up. How bloody irresponsible

And also CAB for initial advice but messing with the boiler is a recipe for disaster.

From what the OP has posted she is being coercively controlled by her husband into living in unsafe conditions. Both Age U.K. and RIPFA advise contacting adult social services:
”A social worker supporting an adult at risk from domestic abuse can be a key person in building trust and safety to enable that person to take steps to free themselves from coercive control”
Also see https://grandparentslegalcentre.co.uk/coercive-control-of-the-elderly/#:~:text=by%20in%20Elderly%20Care%20posted,%2C%20dependent%2C%20isolated%20or%20scared.

The question is why would you not want a vulnerable person to seek every avenue of support? Are you the OPs controlling husband?