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_Deano
Original Poster
6,067 posts
122 months
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Since Friday 29th June i've not had hot water in the rented apartment that i'm currently living at.
To give you some history, on the 18th June the estate agent that is managing the property on behalf of the landlord arranged for a gas engineer to carry out an inspection, due to one of the rooms showing a damp patch on the ceiling where a flue should run from the boiler to the outer wall.
On June 29th The parts that was supposed to be replaced weren't correct and so the engineer felt that because condensation was leaking so would emissions (into the room below), and he capped off the gas supply to the boiler, but he would be back on Tuesday 3rd/Wednesday 4th July to correct it all (a reasonable amount of time i thought and so i manned up and endured cold showers over the next few days)
Wednesday 4th July came and he tried again to sort the problem, but the corrosion inside the flue was that bad that he now needs to replace all of the flue instead of parts of it. I was then told on the 5th July that it will take up to 10 days to obtain the part and then to arrange the engineer to come back and fit.
I know that i need to allow for reasonable amount of time for the problem to be sorted, in which case this would be from the 29th to the 4th July. But the fact that i am forced to go without the ability to have hot water is there some way that they (the estate agent/landlord) can be held responsible for the increase costs of either having to boil 4 kettles of water to have a tiny bath, the fact that i have to travel a 60mile round trip to my parents to use their shower or any other alternative that would involve a cost, such as putting me up in a hotel.
I spoken to said ES and they have told me that if i wanted to stay in a hotel my costs will not be refunded. This will also be true for any other cost that i may incur whilst i try to have a warm shower.
The ES have told me that the apartment is habitable and that i need to just bear with them whilst this is sorted, but there will be no reduction in the rent whilst the place is without hot water. And if i withhold rent due to there being no hot water, then the ES will take legal action to try and reclaim the amount. I mentioned that i wasn't happy with this and they told me that he will contact the landlord and look to serve notice if i didn't want to be there.
So at the moment it would seem that the ES are a nasty piece of work and have no compassion.
Is there anything that i can do or entitled to do, so that the next week and a bit is a bit easier?
Thanks for your help.
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danyeates
4,364 posts
91 months
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Sounds like a very harsh reply from the letting agent. Very threatening! Do you have an up to date gas safety certificate?
I'd withhold some rent that you think would be a reasonable compensation for the time being. Easier to withhold money than to try and claim for it back at a later date. Regardless of whether you're entitled to compensation or not, they can hardly chuck you out for withholding a month's rent for a few extra days.
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harryowl
977 posts
50 months
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Your not going to die if you have a cold shower. MTFU.
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_Deano
Original Poster
6,067 posts
122 months
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danyeates said: Sounds like a very harsh reply from the letting agent. Very threatening! Do you have an up to date gas safety certificate?
I'd withhold some rent that you think would be a reasonable compensation for the time being. Easier to withhold money than to try and claim for it back at a later date. Regardless of whether you're entitled to compensation or not, they can hardly chuck you out for withholding a month's rent for a few extra days. That's a good point, i've not enquired about a gas safety certificate. Thinking in the long run though, when i do move on and to another rented place, i am going to need a reference from this estate agent (but i don't know what is contained within a reference). If by holding back rent is going to tarnish a clean reference, then i may need another solution.
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_Deano
Original Poster
6,067 posts
122 months
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harryowl said: Your not going to die if you have a cold shower. MTFU. Thanks Harryowl
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dirkgently
1,285 posts
100 months
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danyeates said: Do you have an up to date gas safety certificate? No requirement for a lgs the gas has been capped off. 
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craigjm
2,244 posts
69 months
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You rented the flat with hot water. You no longer have hot water. Any reasonable person would withhold a percentage of rent for the period during which the property does not meet the standard that you rented it in. Don't let the estate agent scare you with the threat of legal action.
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Conian
7,528 posts
70 months
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Jesus H'ing Christ, just boil a kettle a few times, pour into sink along with some cold water, have a good wash. Make some time to get on with a neighbour so that they will say 'hey buddy I hear you have no water, come use my shower'.. who knows it may even lead somewhere. You may well be too young to remember 'the old days' but go and get an e-book and read it on your new fangled I-Pad and read about how people used to manage with no hot water or central heating at all. Go and pay ya rent n realize that life is sometimes s  tty and you don't need to write to Points of View about minor inconveniences.
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Odie
3,675 posts
51 months
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princeperch
4,524 posts
116 months
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the case law states that a suitable reduction for lack of hot water/heating is something in the region of a 10pc discount for the monthly rent figure.
that's your starting point.
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Vipers
15,550 posts
97 months
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Citizens advice beureau? 
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Mobile Chicane
14,028 posts
81 months
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Ten days to source and fit what in effect is a bit of piping is taking the piss. The letting agent sounds like an a hole, but unfortunately an a hole that you're at the mercy of. My guess is they've beaten their maintenance contractors down on price to the extent that any of their work is prioritised last. Not funny when you're holding the bambino. I'd contact the landlord directly and complain about the level of 'service' you're getting.
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McHaggis
7,785 posts
24 months
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Conian said: Jesus H'ing Christ, just boil a kettle a few times, pour into sink along with some cold water, have a good wash. Make some time to get on with a neighbour so that they will say 'hey buddy I hear you have no water, come use my shower'.. who knows it may even lead somewhere. You may well be too young to remember 'the old days' but go and get an e-book and read it on your new fangled I-Pad and read about how people used to manage with no hot water or central heating at all. Go and pay ya rent n realize that life is sometimes s tty and you don't need to write to Points of View about minor inconveniences. So you think it is ok to be without hot water for up to 20 days when paying a full rent?
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zcacogp
10,027 posts
113 months
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princeperch said: the case law states that a suitable reduction for lack of hot water/heating is something in the region of a 10pc discount for the monthly rent figure.
that's your starting point. This. And ask the letting agent for the landlord's contact details. And when you talk to the landlord, ask whether they would mind giving a reference directly for future lets rather than the letting agent. Oli.
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OllieC
2,835 posts
83 months
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zcacogp said: princeperch said: the case law states that a suitable reduction for lack of hot water/heating is something in the region of a 10pc discount for the monthly rent figure.
that's your starting point. This. And ask the letting agent for the landlord's contact details. And when you talk to the landlord, ask whether they would mind giving a reference directly for future lets rather than the letting agent. Oli. Landlords are quite often unaware (in my direct experience and that of a few friends) that their letting agents are unhelpful at best and downright useless at worst.
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budgie smuggler
796 posts
28 months
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29th to the 15th isn't really acceptable in my humble opinion. I've had to live without hot water for a few weeks and it was a complete pain in the arse. Took about an hour of constantly boiling the kettle and all the pans I had in order to have a bath which was still pretty cold.
On the other hand, plumbers can be a complete arse ache. So whilst I wouldn't expect a large amount of cash deducted from the rent, anything would be a nice gesture and take the edge off the annoyance.
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Slagathore
3,741 posts
61 months
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10 days to get a new flue?
What brand is the boiler? I'm sure there are plumbers on here that could get the correct fitting flue in a day or so?
Get the landlord's contact details and make him aware of the situation and see if you can come to some sort of agreement with him about a small discount, then make sure you get it in writing, so when it comes to getting your deposit back, the agents don't take the agreed discount from your deposit.
It should be protected in one of the schemes, so if it did go to a dispute, you'll need to show you had the landlord's permission.
You could ask to see the current/last gas certificate, surely the corrosion on the flue has been going on for a while? Do the flues get checked when the certs are done?
ETA - regarding giving you notice, are you still within your fixed period of the AST or has that expired and you're on a periodical. If you're still within your fixed period, all they can do is serve you notice to say they will not be renewing the contract when it expires. Sounds like the agents are trying the bully approach in the hope you'll just put up with it!
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falkster
4,151 posts
72 months
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OllieC said: Landlords are quite often unaware (in my direct experience and that of a few friends) that their letting agents are unhelpful at best and downright useless at worst. I've changed agents before because of the way they managed the properties. I now use an awesome agent but have also given the tenants my number incase they don't get any joy - in 12 months they've never phoned me (touch wood). I would say that things do happen and sometimes things take longer than planned - I was without water in my own house for 3 weeks because of a boiler issue and wrong parts being sent out after a wrong diagnosis - I went to my local swimming baths for a shower!! (why the hell would your only option to drive to your parents for a shower, do you not have friends?)
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craigjm
2,244 posts
69 months
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zcacogp said: This.
And ask the letting agent for the landlord's contact details.
And when you talk to the landlord, ask whether they would mind giving a reference directly for future lets rather than the letting agent.
Oli. Shouldn't have to ask, he should have been provided with them at the outset as part of the contract process. If the agent has failed to do this you can ask for them and they must be provided promptly or they are in breach of the landlord and tenancy act 1987
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falkster
4,151 posts
72 months
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craigjm said: Shouldn't have to ask, he should have been provided with them at the outset as part of the contract process. If the agent has failed to do this you can ask for them and they must be provided promptly or they are in breach of the landlord and tenancy act 1987 Where does it say the landlord must give the tenant their contact details? The tenant has contact details in case anything goes wrong, in this case it's the letting agent that is the manager of that property. Why would you pay someone a percentage of the rent then be answering your phone to deal with issues? Tenant rings letting agent, they either appint a tradesmen or THEY ring the landlord for them to decide what the options are - this is totally dependent on the agreement the landlord has. I gave my tenants my number just incase they couldn't get hold of someone at the lettings agency but wasn't required to. I did this purely because they are my properties and any damage could be worsened if we failed to fix in the first instance.
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