Rented House - Freezing

TheCityManager

I rented a 3 bed semi on a 6 month lease..3 months gone.....It's FREEZIN...have heat up FULL all day and still need coat and hat on in house or sit on top of radiators...my daughter refuses to stay and I had to move out over xmas as I just couldn't stick the cold..girlfriend kinda doesnt like staying either so I seem to spend most of my time at hers or friends....

What can I do ?

Can I get rent reduced due to excess gas bills and fact I cant really stay here ????

The_Conductor

If you've signed a 6 month lease- you are liable for the lease (you can leave early and sublet the lease- but it would be up to you to find a replacement tenant, and it has to be with the agreement of the landlord).

Is there a particular reason its so cold? Insufficient insulation? Lack of double glazing? Poor heating systems etc? I take it you've done the usual things like bleeding the radiators etc?

I'd bring this up with the landlord initially- perhaps there is something that can be done.

In future- ask for the energy rating cert for the unit before you rent........

tenchi-fan

the extreme cold will only last a couple of weeks and at least pipes didn't burst. My advice is to leave the heating on 24/7 and wear a woolly jumper.
My own house has an energy rating of E2 but the only room that is a misery to walk into is the poorly insulated bathroom.

the_syco

Bleed the radiators: they are the usual suspects. You'll know if they need bleeding if the tops are cold, and the bottom are hot. Easy to do, and the "key" that you use only costs a euro in your local DIY.

Close all the doors, leave the heat on, and then go from rrom to room, to see can you isolate where the heat may be escaping.

goz83

I am in the exact same situation. As I write this, my hands are freezing, I am wearing a big jacket and a woolly hat. Moved here in October with my gf. Insisted on 6 month lease. Never thought about the BER and the land lords are as scabby and tight as a clamshell with a cold.

It's an end terrace house with single glaze windows. The only insulation is a bit of fibre glass in the attic. The heating could be on all day and I can still see my breath. I can hear the wind howling loudly down the chimney. If I open the living room door, it feels like Jack Frost is walking through me. This may sound funny, but i'm not joking, it's really terrible. The radiators were bled a couple of weeks ago and no heat stays in the house. I have worked in warehouses and they are warmer than this house. Isn't there a minimum standard which must be upheld? I'm sure the house must be of a certain BER to be rented. I'm thinking about approaching the land lords with a few words as this is unacceptable.

TheCityManager

Right even more...

Had landlord over today...

House is Freezen...nought they can do they say..claim house got a BER C rating ...:eek:

Freezer is not working...say they wont buy a new one as house is up for sale...told me to buy myself a chest freezer:eek:


Dishwasher blows all the sockets in kitchen so cant be used:eek:...will try to have it looked at !!

Garage has many many leaks..specifically needed garage for storage of stuff...:eek:...nothing they can do they say !!


Alarm has not worked ... need alarm as I have expensive stuff stored in, now soaked, garage..nothing they can do they say !!


Opinions please!!!!!!!

Paulw

It's damn cold weather.

A BER C rating is good, better than most homes.

You don't have to use freezer. If it wasn't working when you moved in, they're under no obligation to replace. Same with alarm.

As for dishwasher, sounds like a bad circuit, that should be easy enough to fix. Wash the dishes by hand until then.

Again, if it was leaking before you moved in ... they can get away with doing nothing, especially if they are trying to sell the premises.

I've my heating on all day here, and it's still cold. Mine is a modern (4 yr old) apt. I own it, so not much I can do. It's well insulated, but the weather outside with the wind and rain, and cold .... well ... not much I can do.

goz83

The fridge must be replaced. They must do this. The dishwasher is a safety hazard. If the garage was part of the lease they must honour it. look at this site for your entitlements. http://www.myhome.ie/lettings/advice/tenants/viewing-checklist-for-renters-2568

I have a similar complaint with the oven. The inside glass is missing so it loses alot of heat, which the house then loses. When I open the oven, smoke billows out (and it's not because i'm a bad cook).

ednwireland

goz83 wrote: »

Isn't there a minimum standard which must be upheld? I'm sure the house must be of a certain BER to be rented.

nope existing houses dont have to meet any ber level just need to have one (in the process of upgrading a property its getting cavity wall insulation and more loft insulation, the ber will go from f to e2 )
council house didnt need a ber until last budget
think new properties re different but dont have one of them

gurramok

Paulw wrote: »

It's damn cold weather.

A BER C rating is good, better than most homes.

You don't have to use freezer. If it wasn't working when you moved in, they're under no obligation to replace. Same with alarm.

As for dishwasher, sounds like a bad circuit, that should be easy enough to fix. Wash the dishes by hand until then.

Again, if it was leaking before you moved in ... they can get away with doing nothing, especially if they are trying to sell the premises.

I've my heating on all day here, and it's still cold. Mine is a modern (4 yr old) apt. I own it, so not much I can do. It's well insulated, but the weather outside with the wind and rain, and cold .... well ... not much I can do.

I've heard the story above before from various people, it really is the luck of the draw(within reason) with regards to how warm your apt can be. Some places that were built in the bubble years would freeze you and others were warm and comfy without any heating on.

Mine(gnd flr) never goes below 14C without heating(i watch that thermo!) and its supposed to be -2C outside, apt built around 1994 i believe. Its quite comfy at the moment so counting my lucky stars i'm not in yours or CityManager's position.

Also, I had bought myself a big freezer as the one supplied was tiny for my needs so its my responsibility.

goz83

ednwireland wrote: »

nope existing houses dont have to meet any ber level just need to have one (in the process of upgrading a property its getting cavity wall insulation and more loft insulation, the ber will go from f to e2 )
council house didnt need a ber until last budget
think new properties re different but dont have one of them

I'm not sure the landlord would even have a BER for this place. Would there be a comeback for me if she doesn't?

A leak has now developed in the kitchen below the bathroom. Checked bathroom pipes and they are dry, so no problem there. Called landlord to report this. Also complained about the heat problem and the BLACK damp around the single glaze windows. She wanted to wait til Monday. No way I told her. I can't risk turning lights or appliances on in the kitchen so I need a plumber now. Plumber on way.

I wouldn't be surprised if the coldness caused the leak. It happened jst after hot water was passed through the bathroom sink drain.

Paulw

gurramok wrote: »

I've heard the story above before from various people, it really is the luck of the draw(within reason) with regards to how warm your apt can be. Some places that were built in the bubble years would freeze you and others were warm and comfy without any heating on.

Mine(gnd flr) never goes below 14C without heating(i watch that thermo!) and its supposed to be -2C outside, apt built around 1994 i believe. Its quite comfy at the moment so counting my lucky stars i'm not in yours or CityManager's position.

Normally, my apt is nice and warm. Last year, we barely needed the heating on. We're the top apt (two below us). We have a solid concrete floor.

This year though, my bottom neighbour went to her daughter in Aus, and the apt below is rented out, so was empty. We had no heat coming up from below. So, this year has been bitterly cold for us, and we've needed a lot more heating.

A few days ago, new people moved in below us, so our apt is warmer (thanks to the heat coming up).

crossmolinalad

Had a cold house too
i ve turned up the boiler stat from 60 to 95 c now is nice and warm inside

The_Conductor

crossmolinalad wrote: »

Had a cold house too
i ve turned up the boiler stat from 60 to 95 c now is nice and warm inside

I'm guessing you mean 'f' not 'c' unless you're rather fond of saunas

crossmolinalad

smccarrick wrote: »

I'm guessing you mean 'f' not 'c' unless you're rather fond of saunas

No i mean the water tem of the boiler itself turned it to 95 degrees celcius
Thermostat in the house at 21Deg celcius
Rooms not in use turned off the radator valves

joolsveer

smccarrick wrote: »

I'm guessing you mean 'f' not 'c' unless you're rather fond of saunas

Surely the boiler thermostat registers degrees c?

The_Conductor

joolsveer wrote: »

Surely the boiler thermostat registers degrees c?

Ahhh- the penny drops.....
My thermostat is rated solely for room temperature- water gets heated as a by-product of the gas heating- and has a cut-off of 80c (after which it bypasses the hotwater tank and goes directly to the radiators- if it tops 90c- it vents via the external release (which the builder decided was perfect over the front door........)

Diarmuid

goz83 wrote: »

I'm not sure the landlord would even have a BER for this place.

It's a legal requirement since Jan 2009.

iguana

Can you start using whatever rooms face south as your main rooms? Each night before you go to bed open your curtains up wide so the room can warm up somewhat from the morning sun. As soon as the sun begins to set pull your curtains even if it's not yet that dark to keep the heat in. Keep the doors closed at all times and if there is an unused fireplace in the room block the chimney.

I've lived in victorian houses for years and I only ever switch on the heating in the rooms I am using for a few hours a day. In the coldest weather I'll have it on from about 4-10, at a low steady heat. I don't have it on now and I'm sitting in my living room in my pyjamas and I'm perfectly comfortable and it's slightly colder here according to the BBC than it is in most parts of Ireland. The house I'm in now has no insulation at all, it's a layer of London stock bricks and plasterboard.

As for having to wear a jumper, well it's winter and a particularly cold winter at that. You should have to wear a jumper, life isn't an episode of Hollyoaks where everyone parades around in tight tops regardless of the weather. Go to Penneys and invest in some thermals, some fleece tops and even a fleece lined tracksuit pants or two. Don't get me wrong, it's really annoying to only use a minimum of the house in winter. I fanatasise a lot about my future brilliantly insulated house with huge solar gain windows and geothermal heating running off solar panels where I can sit about my warm house in my underwear even when it's -10c outside. But in the mean time I live in an uninsulated house and I'll make the best of it without spending a fortune on gas.

PCPhoto

iguana wrote: »

Can you start using whatever rooms face south as your main rooms? Each night before you go to bed open your curtains up wide so the room can warm up somewhat from the morning sun. As soon as the sun begins to set pull your curtains even if it's not yet that dark to keep the heat in. Keep the doors closed at all times and if there is an unused fireplace in the room block the chimney.
.

erm.... this is Ireland ...... sun ???

seriously tho...OP....do you have much time on the lease left ? if not ...its a case of learn from the mistake .... you've learned some of the things to check before moving into an apartment. (ask for BER rating/cert, check insulation and check and agree to get anything that is broken to be fixed etc)

iguana

PCPhoto wrote: »

erm.... this is Ireland ...... sun ???

There is plenty of sun most days, it doesn't need much heat in it to warm up a room through south facing glass.

Mailman

open fire with coal and antracite; problem solved.

with enough antracite your grate will melt it'll be so hot.

coal and antracite are comparitively cheap even with carbon tax.

kerosene heaters are very effective too but have to be used in well ventilated rooms as they give off CO; if it is a very drafty house that's not a problem.

The_Conductor

iguana wrote: »

There is plenty of sun most days, it doesn't need much heat in it to warm up a room through south facing glass.

Tbh- you'd want a fair amount of south facing, unshaded glass- for it to make a large difference in the current weather conditions. If its not double glazed- you're as likely to have a cold draft from the windows, south facing or otherwise, as anything else. You'd almost be better off- using the heaviest possible curtains to close the windows, and heat the room once you're no longer sending the heat straight out the window.......

My parents do use solar panels for all their hot water- I'm not saying you're not going to get a nice bit of warmth *in optimal conditions* from south facing glass- but if the place is a refrigerator- you're pretty screwed no matter what you do.......

S.

mcaul

TheCityManager wrote: »

Right even more...

Had landlord over today...

House is Freezen...nought they can do they say..claim house got a BER C rating ...:eek:

Freezer is not working...say they wont buy a new one as house is up for sale...told me to buy myself a chest freezer:eek:


Dishwasher blows all the sockets in kitchen so cant be used:eek:...will try to have it looked at !!

Garage has many many leaks..specifically needed garage for storage of stuff...:eek:...nothing they can do they say !!


Alarm has not worked ... need alarm as I have expensive stuff stored in, now soaked, garage..nothing they can do they say !!


Opinions please!!!!!!!

If the house is up for sale, then you could possibly walk away from your lease
as there is no certainty that your lease will be honoured by the landlord. There are so many good houses with good insulation available for rent, you'll have no probelm finding something more suitable.

iguana

smccarrick wrote: »

Tbh- you'd want a fair amount of south facing, unshaded glass- for it to make a large difference in the current weather conditions. If its not double glazed- you're as likely to have a cold draft from the windows, south facing or otherwise, as anything else. You'd almost be better off- using the heaviest possible curtains to close the windows, and heat the room once you're no longer sending the heat straight out the window......

My old house had single glazed windows and was completely uninsulated but the sun used to heat the rear rooms significantly. I used to use the back bedroom to dry clothes in the winter as they dried so fast, even when there was snow outside. It possibly helped that they were bay windows which allowed in a lot of light but the rooms were always a comfortable temperature. I used to even have the windows open for an hour or so each day as the dogs slept in the downstairs room and to avoid condensation upstairs when I was drying clothes. Our boiler was knackered for most of the first winter so we didn't even have heating a lot of the time but once we had an hour or two of sun the rooms weren't cold in the day.

The north facing rooms on the other hand were a nightmare. They had huge single glazed bay windows and were extremely hard to heat. When the boiler was working we used the back livingroom in winter as the room was smaller and only had one window. But when the boiler was out the front livingroom was the only one with a functional fireplace so we kept the big wool curtains shut all the time.

People really underestimate the amount of warmth that is in the winter sun. Once it is coming through even a single pane of glass it magnifies significantly and will make a huge difference to the heat in a room. But you have to be careful to keep the heat in the room by keeping the doors closed all the time.

sham69

I know how you feel OP.
I am renting a place for the last 4 months and only realised once the cold weather kicked in how badly insulated it is.
The window in the sitting room is busted ( I have it stuffed with a sock).
There is a wicked breeze coming in from the front and back doors.
I have had my heat on for about 12 hours every day for the past 3 weeks plus an electric heater that I use every few hours to boost the heat.
We have sent the landlord an email about it so am waiting for a reply.
We are luck as we have a 6 month review so I assume either party can break the lease at that point.
We have also asked for a reduction as we are paying 1200 for a 3 bedroom semi in Dublin 7.
Hopefully the cold spell won't last much longer.
I will be checking the BER cert on the next property I rent.
We didnt get to see the one for here until a month after moving in.

Roisinbunny

PCPhoto wrote: »

erm.... this is Ireland ...... sun ???

Don't knock the power of the morning sun. Happened the other morning to us after a night of minus 10. Whole kitchen/dining room area of my friends house was toasty warm and she had actually forgotten to time the heat to come on. It was amazing to sit in - it felt like the summer.

Diarmuid

sham69 wrote: »

I will be checking the BER cert on the next property I rent.
We didnt get to see the one for here until a month after moving in.

What was the rating when you did get it?

sham69

the missus checked it as I didnt really want to rent the property (long story).
She thinks it was E2 (which would make sense)

John Mason

Roisinbunny wrote: »

Don't knock the power of the morning sun. Happened the other morning to us after a night of minus 10. Whole kitchen/dining room area of my friends house was toasty warm and she had actually forgotten to time the heat to come on. It was amazing to sit in - it felt like the summer.

+1 to this.

in the morning you can see your breath in my kitchen, it is a case of running making breakfast and running to the sittting room which gets the sun in the morning, it is lovely and warm.

we get a lot of winter sun in ireland, i wear my sunglass more in the car in the winter then the summer.

Diarmuid

sham69 wrote: »

She thinks it was E2 (which would make sense)

ouch! IMHO Making the BER cert mandatory for renting is one of the best moves in the past few years for renters.

Angry Troll

this country simply is not prepared for serious winter temperatures and people somehow just accept and live with it…
of course, bringing all irish houses up to standard would take a while and cost a lot after all the neglect and sloppiness of the past years and decades…outdoor-plumbing, lack of insulation etc., all built on the cheap with no regard for quality or anything like it…
the simple truth is that a properly built and insulated house with modern windows and an up-to-date heating system will always be nice and warm in winter. it really is that easy...

TheCityManager

Update on all this....

House is so so cold I simply cannot live there at the mo so am living with gf :rolleyes:

I decided that due to cold, landlord's refusal of new fridge etc that I would put stop on rental standing order and give a months notice....

Left canceling SO too late..was taken today ..so I'm stuck with it for another two months..The one that was taken this morning and my deposit (in lieu of next month..,)
Fcuk Fcuk why didnt I cancel SO a day earlier...now Im basically paying €1100pm for storage..:(

Unless nice landlords would let me off two months early ... yeah right

Massive Muscles

TheCityManager wrote: »

Update on all this....

House is so so cold I simply cannot live there at the mo so am living with gf :rolleyes:

I decided that due to cold, landlord's refusal of new fridge etc that I would put stop on rental standing order and give a months notice....

Left canceling SO too late..was taken today ..so I'm stuck with it for another two months..The one that was taken this morning and my deposit (in lieu of next month..,)
Fcuk Fcuk why didnt I cancel SO a day earlier...now Im basically paying €1100pm for storage..:(

Unless nice landlords would let me off two months early ... yeah right

Lesson learned, never setup a standing order. Say you will then just do a manual online transfer every month.

Angry Troll

seems some people are just not taking this very seriously…recommending to “start using whatever rooms face south as your main rooms” or “leave the heating on 24/7 and wear a woolly jumper” and stuff like that…nice ideas, my great grandma might have done just that back in 1901…
yet this is the 21st century and ireland is in the north-western part of europe so houses should be insulated properly and heating systems installed to cope with cold weather with or without the sun or woolly jumpers...everything else is basically unacceptable and pure neglect and sloppiness by builders and landlords and should no longer be tolerated by anyone…

The_Conductor

I see how you got your username

Seriously though- most of the jobs in the Irish construction industry for the next 20 years- will be in retrofitting insulation and knocking 1 bed apartments into reasonable sized 2-3 bed ones.......

There was a collective national insanity for the past 15 years- we need to calm down and figure how we are going to end up with accommodation that people can actually live in.

roboto

Angry Troll wrote: »

seems some people are just not taking this very seriously…recommending to “start using whatever rooms face south as your main rooms” or “leave the heating on 24/7 and wear a woolly jumper” and stuff like that…nice ideas, my great grandma might have done just that back in 1901…
yet this is the 21st century and ireland is in the north-western part of europe so houses should be insulated properly and heating systems installed to cope with cold weather with or without the sun or woolly jumpers...everything else is basically unacceptable and pure neglect and sloppiness by builders and landlords and should no longer be tolerated by anyone…

amen... well said. Most of the houses that were built in a hurry throughout the "boom" are lacking basic standarts. This time of the year it just has become to obvious that something is wrong... and ist not even like the Austrian winter with -20 degress or below, just a "coldsnap"

Angry Troll

smccarrick wrote: »

[...]

Seriously though- most of the jobs in the Irish construction industry for the next 20 years- will be in retrofitting insulation and knocking 1 bed apartments into reasonable sized 2-3 bed ones.......

There was a collective national insanity for the past 15 years- we need to calm down and figure how we are going to end up with accommodation that people can actually live in.

amen to that

rosiejosie

Argh found this thread and had to agree. I think literally every house I've lived in in Ireland since we moved here in 1994 has been damp. Thats 9 houses, some worse than others. I'm really upset at the moment because of the house my boyfriend and I are in now. It's a big old building, built in 1836 and renovated and separated into 2 houses about ten years ago. When we came to see the house the landlady said that there was sometimes a bit of mold around the kitchen window due to steam from cooking, but that they had just painted it with anti-damp stuff. So I said ok, asked is there damp anywhere else (the reason we were moving was because the flat we were in then had a bedroom so damp there were puddles on the floor) she said no and seemed shocked at the idea. Fast forward 9 months and there is black mold all around the living room, kitchen window, coming up in the bedroom, the porch is covered, the wood panelling in the living area is moldy, more than half my books are moldy, our clothes won't dry... She called around today and said she's in touch with someone to sort it out but we have to keep the windows open. Now - it's open plan so we are in this room all day, have to cook and dry clothes in here because we have no dryer and as I'm sure everyone knows - it's winter and it rains a lot. I already open windows but it is so cold you can see your breath all day and we can't afford to have a fire burning all day and night. Sorry for rant but I get so frustrated. I've moved sooo many times the last few years. I know this mold is caused by condensation and after the freezing winter the big cold walls react to the moisture in here, but we have no option but to hang the clothes in here to dry, and we have to cook to eat! And I'm scared she'll make it out to be our fault because we didn't keep the bloody windows open in the sub-zero temperatures!!! Oh and she admitted today that they had this problem in the past but never this bad. So now we'll have to move yet again.

D3PO

I dont see why you have to keep you clothes in to dry. Ive put my washing out all the time since the cold snap and all have dried outdoors. Im not saying the mould is your fault, but people dont take enough care to prevent it either.

The amount of people I know that enver open their windows is amazing.

shoegirl

Angry Troll wrote: »

of course, bringing all irish houses up to standard would take a while and cost a lot after all the neglect and sloppiness of the past years and decades…outdoor-plumbing, lack of insulation etc., all built on the cheap with no regard for quality or anything like it…

This is just not true. The worst places for substandard ratings are converted properties, mostly pre-63 conversions. Its very common for these places to bring in weekly incomes of 600 a week or more, and I've seen incomes of as much as 75k a year from these. Given that a lot of them would have been bought in the 70s and 80s very cheaply a lot of these landlords are making a tidy sum. Plus I think there have been lots of tax incentives over the years for various purposes. There really isn't much excuse aside from pure greed.

I am soon moving out of a place that was only "renovated" in the last few years, but they built an extension that effectively is one great big heat and natural light remover. Ironically, the original part of the building almost doesn't need heating at all. It wouldn't have cost them that much to insulate the new part at the time, and the extension effectively created 3 completely new apartments bringing the landlord at least 370 a week in rent, so in one year that is nearly 20k, or 200k over 10 years! Surely that is enough to have spent just 5k or more properly insulating and ventilating the place in the first place!

rosiejosie

D3PO - We sleep with our bedroom window open yet there is mold in the bedroom. I open the window in the living room every morning but it gets very very cold. You can see your breath nearly every day in this house. The window in the kitchen area is in a very deep wall over the sink which means you have to climb up and down the kitchen counter to open it. Yes, maybe we should have had the windows open more but when it gets so cold so quickly in here it isn't very nice. We wear jumpers and jackets and woolly socks and my boyfriend often wears his hat inside as it is. As for the washing, I try to put it out when it's dry, but it rains nearly every day in this part of the country, and to have nearly-dry washing drenched again in a few minutes of rain means it will take another 4 or 5 days till it's dry. Of course us simply being here is probably the main cause of the damp, but that shouldn't be the case. Like other people have said here, I think it's something that builders and architects need to figure out. Ireland is such a damp country, we need to find a way to make houses that can deal with it. Anyway, I'm over my sulk from this morning, I'm sure it will work out, and the spring is on the way, hopefully with some warmer weather!:)

gurramok

rosiejosie, do you not have a washer/dryer for the clothes?

And when you do move in 3 mths time, maybe target an apt this time? (maybe on an upper flr to catch rising heat and not as old as 1836 )

If you don't like apts, maybe try an old style Corpo house, as they are mostly better built and perhaps better insulated.

And try asking for a BER cert from a new landlord, it may help.

ricman

bring the pc, and tv into 1 room, theres no point in trying to keep the whole hous warm, in a few weeks it,lll be much warmer.
the next house ,make sure the attic is insulated, and all windows, front door,back door have double glazing.
CHECK FOR condensation near windows.
OBVIOUSLY bigger houses tend to be colder than small ones.
YOU should make sure cooker and fridge,dryer, central heating is working be4 you give the landlord 1cent,or sign a lease.YOU could ask the landlord to buy a dryer in powercity,its only 200euro.
we have loadsa houses built in the last 5 years that have very low standards of insulation ,thats prbly why theres a new ber rating system so at least you know it,be4 you buy a property now.
how the hell do you make a small 1bed aptmnt into a 3bed ?WHEN theres thousands of empty 2bed apartments on the market.
WHEN YOU GO out ,open 1 0r 2 top windows, smaller windows, you dont want to attract burglars.

Xiney

fyi - an icebox in your fridge is no longer acceptable under tenancy regulations.

You now are entitled to either a fridge-freezer or a seperate freezer.

Bob_Latchford

Ask if they had BER if you signed lease after last Jan (2009)

according to this site

http://www.greenme.ie/greenblog/2009/09/83-of-landlords-are-ignoring-ber-legislation/

without it lease is invalid

rosiejosie

gurramok, no dryer just a washer. The apartment is a good idea but we have dogs so it wouldn't work for us. We want to find a "proper" house, something that was built for a family to live in, if that makes sense, but having dogs makes it difficult to find places, sometimes you have to take what you can get. Not, that I'm complaining, they're worth it! When we moved here we never even thought of the BER, but we'll def be asking when we move

iguana

rosiejosie wrote: »

We want to find a "proper" house, something that was built for a family to live in, if that makes sense, but having dogs makes it difficult to find places, sometimes you have to take what you can get.

If you go on the advanced search on Daft.ie you can choose a "pets allowed" option on the search so will automatically see places that are ok with pets. I'm looking for a house in Dublin that I can have my dogs in and there are lots of options, what's difficult is finding a place near a park that I can actually walk them in.

In addition to that there is a rental over-supply in most places so it's easier to get landlords to agree to having pets. If you haven't already download the Property-Bee toolbar so you can see how long the property has been on the market and if the rental asking price has been changed. It puts you in a stronger position to negotiate.

Graces7

Re fridges not working.. the modern energy efficient ones cut out when the temperature in the room gets too low. We thought the one here was dead and made the landlord replace it to find the same thing; also our dehumidifier kept cutting our for the same reason.

We have a very cold house too as it is high altitude. Double glazing and bad condensation problems no matter how many windows open.
No central heating.

In the old days, Irish folk would keep a turf fire lit 24/7. Says a lot.

The dehumdifier is a boon; we bought it and have never regretted it. It pulls the damp in and takes the edge off the chill.

Bleach bottles make great hot water bottles also. We collect them

Ireland is one huge bog after all.. We have moved every year for five years... The last place before this was the worst; then the back wall and floor began pouring water in so we quit. Fast.. so now we need to face this one through and have survived the winter thankfully..

The_Conductor

I'd echo what Graces7 said about getting a dehumidifier. I'm in a modern building, with good insulation, in the Dublin area- and I remove ~20 litres a day of water from the environment (a shocking amount and I've no idea where its coming from........) I also run a commercial aircon unit on dehumidity settings in the summer- its reasonably energy efficient, and really helps upstairs in particular (where it gets incredibly hot and sticky).

In low humidity- we need less heating in the winter- and less cooling in the summer.......

goat2

Paulw wrote: »

It's damn cold weather.

A BER C rating is good, better than most homes.

You don't have to use freezer. If it wasn't working when you moved in, they're under no obligation to replace. Same with alarm.

As for dishwasher, sounds like a bad circuit, that should be easy enough to fix. Wash the dishes by hand until then.

Again, if it was leaking before you moved in ... they can get away with doing nothing, especially if they are trying to sell the premises.

I've my heating on all day here, and it's still cold. Mine is a modern (4 yr old) apt. I own it, so not much I can do. It's well insulated, but the weather outside with the wind and rain, and cold .... well ... not much I can do.

as far as i know anything over a year you have to give one months notice, then my guess under the year it could be one week look it up, but you have to give notice to get your deposit back, as for the freezer they do not have to see after, as for the garage it would not come into the frame either, dishwasher is another thing they did not have to supply, the weather is so cold these days the best of houses are not keeping the heat in, it is according to which part of country you are, some areas are much colder, the more nothwards we go the colder it is.