Can a Private Landlord leave me with no heating and hot water ?

[helhol 11]

are you within your rights to get a plumber out and send the bill to your landlady, im sure there is a time scale for work to be completed regarding heating and hot water due to enviromental health issues,

[mrnmrswild 10]

Well ive reported this to Enviromental Health this morning but the team that work on my area wasnt available so she took my name and number and she says someone will call me back Monday, The landlady is ringing another plumber up but ive had no call as yet to confirm she has got hold of 1, I want to get a plumber out myself but im not sure she would like that so im stuck really its a crap situation to be in to be honest with ya

[retired 10]

It could be awkward if you find your own engineer. As it will be you you have instructed the engineer to call round then it will be you who he invoices for his call out fee. Simply passing the bill on to the landlord might not work as she did not employ him.

 

However, it sounds like she is a bit on the tight side as well as ignorant. You could ring around and obtain how much someone would charge for their call out and diagnosis and then tell this landlady that you have got someone prepared to call round and it will cost £x for his diagnosis and quote and see if she will accept his price and instruct him to get on with it. If she accepts his call out fee at least then make sure she books his appointment and he is aware of who he has to bill and where.

 

Some landlords are responsible and some don't have a clue. Good luck with this one.

[mrnmrswild 10]

I phoned a Plumber out of our local paper last night gave the landlord the details of the plumber and he came this afternoon and fixed the lot im back with heat and water, Im still mad at the landlord because i phone 1st plumber and he comes out the next day to me i just think it was pure ignorance

[retired 10]

Glad to see you have got this all sorted. Like I said above she sounds tight and ignorant. Not all landlords are like this and you have the misfortune of having a bad one.

[JBradleybz 10]

out of interest, what was the fault that the plumber found?

[mrnmrswild 10]

Well when i moved into the property the landlady said she had the boiler and fire Serviced but i asked her where the certificate was and she said il post it you out but surely there not supposted to leave the house but o well i believed her and upto today i never had a certificate posted or given to me. The Plumber who came today was amazed at how dusty and mucky the boiler was he said it had not been serviced in years, He cleaned the boiler up which was smelling no wonder the he cleaned all the fire out unblocked pipes and everything is in working order, So basically because she hadent had the boiler and gas fire serviced it broke down to clogging up with muck and dust

[gnvqsos 10]

Well when i moved into the property the landlady said she had the boiler and fire Serviced but i asked her where the certificate was and she said il post it you out but surely there not supposted to leave the house but o well i believed her and upto today i never had a certificate posted or given to me. The Plumber who came today was amazed at how dusty and mucky the boiler was he said it had not been serviced in years, He cleaned the boiler up which was smelling no wonder the he cleaned all the fire out unblocked pipes and everything is in working order, So basically because she hadent had the boiler and gas fire serviced it broke down to clogging up with muck and dust

 

He may have requested a service but perhaps the gas fitter did not fulfil their contract.The landlord has a copy of the safety document,top copy to tenant and the third retained by Gas safe fitter.

[lolli_pop 10]

The Plumber who came today was amazed at how dusty and mucky the boiler was he said it had not been serviced in years

 

She's been breaking the law then

 

As a landlord, you are legally responsible for the safety of your tenants in relation to gas safety. By law you must:

• Repair and maintain gas pipework, flues and appliances in safe condition
  
• Ensure an annual gas safety check on each appliance and flue
  
• Keep a record of each safety check (here)
  

You might find this useful: Gas safety FAQs - tenants

[mrnmrswild 10]

He may have requested a service but perhaps the gas fitter did not fulfil their contract.The landlord has a copy of the safety document,top copy to tenant and the third retained by Gas safe fitter.

 

At the end of the day my landlords had not had the gas fire/back boiler serviced if it had been serviced it wouldent have been in the state it was in yesterday regular maintenance of the items wouldent cause blockage and dust build up like there was in my fire and boiler, The Plumber that she used to have was a decent bloke and he said when i asked him if he had serviced the boiler prior to me moving in or before that he said no, The plumber that came yesterday was a plumber she doesnt know i found him out if the newspaper and he was here 2 hours cleaning and unblocking pipes making sure it was safe for me and my 2 children, He wasnt pleased at the situation she had left me in in the first place he reckons she was just ignorant and couldent be arsed to help or pay out and was keeping me quiet by giving me Electric Heaters and putting money on my electric meter because she knew she was in trouble if i took this further ( Which i still am ) . After reading someone else quote and the link im in the right to report this because its a legel requirement that she provides me with a gas saftey certificate when i moved in the property so tomorrow im on the phone to Enviromental Health and HSE Executive

[Leah-Lacie 10]

My gas fire is condemned, but I wouldn't use it anyway... Its an old victorian style fireplace with a more modern gas system fitted, but its not so modern that its up to standard, the flues aren't wide enough for use or something like that, so its all been disconnected. However, the rest of the system all works, and the landlady has it serviced every July for me without fail. I haven't got any certification in the house that I know of though, I assume shes got them, they probably get sent to her after the service.