Water Problem, landlady refuses to send plumber!

Ms Inquisitive

A friend of mine rents an apartment of a landlady in the Dublin Area. There was no water as a result of shortage in the area from 8-15 January.
It has since come back on to all the neighbours but not this particular house. There is only scalding hot water and no cold water.

She has contacted the landlady to inform her of the problem and she claims it is a shortage issue and nothing to do with her, she has agreed to contact Dublin City Council but nothing else. There is water in all the house along the row and the fact that hot water can come through but no cold water implies that it is a piping issue and not a supply.

Is it right for my friend to get a plumber herself and deduct it from the rent payable next month?

brianthebard

Could start by sending the landlady a letter explaining the situation and asking for them to send a plumber if your friend hasn't already done this? Often seeing things in writing makes a landlord/estate agent realise you are serious about the issue.

The_Conductor

Ms Inquisitive wrote: »

A friend of mine rents an apartment of a landlady in the Dublin Area. There was no water as a result of shortage in the area from 8-15 January.
It has since come back on to all the neighbours but not this particular house. There is only scalding hot water and no cold water.

She has contacted the landlady to inform her of the problem and she claims it is a shortage issue and nothing to do with her, she has agreed to contact Dublin City Council but nothing else. There is water in all the house along the row and the fact that hot water can come through but no cold water implies that it is a piping issue and not a supply.

Is it right for my friend to get a plumber herself and deduct it from the rent payable next month?

You can only make deductions from the rent with the prior agreement of the landlord- you cannot make a unilateral decision to have work of any nature done on the property and to purloin the cost of such work from rent due.

If hot water is working- it suggests the immersion is being fed from either a storage tank- or that water is once again getting into the property. Lack of cold water in any taps- suggests the former.

If you are certain that water is back in the area- but you don't have it- I would suggest emphasising to the landlord that its highly possible that there may be a burst pipe, and it is far cheaper to call out a plumber to check it out- than it is to have make remedial repairs if the property floods......?

S.

Kipperhell

Check to see if there are any out side taps. It is possible the outside tap is direct to the main which can reduce pressure to appear to be off. If any pipe is burst in this way you would hear the water though so that is unlikely.

If you have hot water it pretty much means water is still getting into the house. The tank has to be filled by water coming in. If the toilet is flushing then there is water coming in. If it is just the taps not working then it is in the house most likely. Any chance you turned a valve while the water was off?

If the friend is so sure that it is not supply offer to pay for the plumber if it is an issue of supply but the landlord would have to pay for it if it was anything that is not covered by supply. Not ideal but likely to address the issue quickly and amicably.

I have had tenants accidentally do things insist the problem was a faulty service got somebody down and it turned out to be the tenants fault or inability to use as directed. Eg toilet blocked and not working as tenant put a nappy down the toilet. The tenant didn't even get the idea she should pay and not me. Was never going to get the money from her and these are the kind of things that happen whether fair or not.

Victor

Turn off your heating and hot water system for the moment.

It sounds like there is no water at all entering the premises and the little water there is being constantly heated and re-heated by the hot water system, hence it is scalding hot.

Eventually the system will run out of water through use and evaporation and may damage the heating and/or cause a fire.

It is possible there is an air lock in the system preventing any water entering the premises or part of the system.

It needs someone familiar with plumbing systems or a plumber to look at it.

Check your attic to see if there is water in the (a) larger storage tank (b) smaller expansion tank. These need to be refilled, but only if the heating system has cooled off.

What parts of the house has water?

Is there hot water coming from cold taps?

For the moment, only use localised heating, e.g. an electric only heater.

Outkast_IRE

Victor wrote: »

Turn off your heating and hot water system for the moment.

It sounds like there is no water at all entering the premises and the little water there is being constantly heated and re-heated by the hot water system, hence it is scalding hot.

Eventually the system will run out of water through use and evaporation and may damage the heating and/or cause a fire.

It is possible there is an air lock in the system preventing any water entering the premises or part of the system.

It needs someone familiar with plumbing systems or a plumber to look at it.

Check your attic to see if there is water in the (a) larger storage tank (b) smaller expansion tank. These need to be refilled, but only if the heating system has cooled off.

What parts of the house has water?

Is there hot water coming from cold taps?

For the moment, only use localised heating, e.g. an electric only heater.

Its quite safe to use the heating as it requires an incredibly small amount of water each year if the system has no leaks etc , it will take a very long time to evaporate , the expansion tank will be fine . It could also be a sealed system so keep the heating going there is no danger unless you have a leak in heating system. The sort of advice you gave has resulted in extra damage in houses over the cold spell as people were afraid to turn on heating when they had no fresh water supply. pipes froze and got damaged . Go and search the treads this is the advice all plumbers etc will give

I really cant figure out how you reckon a heating system low on water will cause a fire , there a double safety feature built into all boilers to stop it functioning and causing damage in such circumstances. Thermostats, high limit stats , on oil burners a fire valve as an added precaution.

Its simple to narrow it down is there any cold water at kitchen sink ? if not then there is probably no fresh water reaching your house ,easiest way to check is hop in atic and see is large storage tank full and if you push down the ballcock does it fill? If neither kitchen tap nor tank in attic has water to it then its a burst pipe underground or something along those lines.

i57dwun4yb1pt8

in this day and age ?

places to rent are two a penny

tell her to fix it or shes moving out - see how long it takes her to find a new tenant in a recession

call her bluff.