House is FREEZING!

RedXIV

Hi all,

Moved into a new place in october, wasn't perfect but we fixed alot of stuff ourselves, broken driers, cookers, lights etc but what we've really noticed in the last while is how bad the heating is. As far as I can tell only 3 heaters in the house work and all of them work badly.

Kinda had enough of the this now. The landlord is being very slow and unresponsive to our pleas and with a 4month old in the house, I'm very conscious of the temperature. Would appreciate any advice here. I'd be happy to leave but we did sign a year long lease. But I can't keep my baby girl in an icebox?

help?

ztoical

What type of heating is it and how old is the property?

RedXIV

Electric Heaters in the house with two storage heaters, one working, one not.

No idea about the age of the house but I would guess between 20-30 years old.


Or just a really badly built new one

Vanbis

RedXIV wrote: »

Hi all,

Moved into a new place in october, wasn't perfect but we fixed alot of stuff ourselves, broken driers, cookers, lights etc but what we've really noticed in the last while is how bad the heating is. As far as I can tell only 3 heaters in the house work and all of them work badly.

Kinda had enough of the this now. The landlord is being very slow and unresponsive to our pleas and with a 4month old in the house, I'm very conscious of the temperature. Would appreciate any advice here. I'd be happy to leave but we did sign a year long lease. But I can't keep my baby girl in an icebox?

help?

Not too sure on the law but surley if that house is not fit for purpose, ie living within then the contract would be void? I'm sure you would have to give the landlord a chance to resolve the issues first but you have a baby to think about in all this.

RedXIV

Thats what I would have thought but spent a good bit of time trying to get through to threshold etc to find out but no answer.

We have told him before a number of times that the house is freezing, and today he finally answered the phone to us to say that the best he can do is get someone to us on friday. This has been said before

Vanbis

RedXIV wrote: »

Thats what I would have thought but spent a good bit of time trying to get through to threshold etc to find out but no answer.

We have told him before a number of times that the house is freezing, and today he finally answered the phone to us to say that the best he can do is get someone to us on friday. This has been said before

I think it is the PTR you should try contacting, i'd keep at because come friday if no one shows or you don't get the answer you want, your back to square one. You can't continue living in that house with a baby.

seamus

I'm not being smart here, but are you fully aware of how the storage heaters work and how to use them effectively?

From speaking to people, by far the biggest cause of problems with storage heaters not working correctly or wasting too much electricity is because they don't know exactly how to use them.

Although if one heater isn't working you will notice very quickly because the other heater will be inadequate no matter how high you turn it up. They're very simple things really, if it's not working it's most likely a fuse/tripswitch gone or the switch on the wall is broken. All easy fixes in any case.

If the light on the wall switch isn't coming on for the broken storage heater, check the fuse or tripswitch for the heater(s). If they're OK, then replace the switch on the wall (or get a sparky or knowledgeable mate to do it).

If the light on the wall switch is coming on, but the heater's not drawing any heat, then it's broken and you'll need an electrician to get it fixed. In ridiculous temperatures like this, I would expect the landlord to have someone with me within 24 hours to fix it or I'd be taking the cost out of the rent. Put this to your landlord if such a move becomes necessary.

His excuse of "can't get someone till Friday" sounds like, "I rang my mate who does odd jobs and he can't get out after work to get to you until Friday evening because he plays football on Tuesdays, looks after the kids on Wednesdays...."

Beruthiel

It's worth checking the attic to see if there is any insulation.

I had storage heaters in an old apt of mine. They are crap imo.
They heat up at night when you don't need them and drop drastically in temperature in the evening when you actually need them.
I used to have to use an electrical heater in the evenings.

As for the landlord, he needs a kick up the arse. Below zero temperatures and he expects you to wait until Friday.
Were I in your position, I'd be telling him to have someone out tomorrow or I'll get a handy man myself and deduct the bill off next months rent.

Bill2673

If it was me I'd move into a hotel until the big freeze is over and take the cost out of next months rent.

RedXIV

No offence taken Seamus. and believe me, I'm no expert. But we had an electrician in for a load of odd jobs when we moved in and he said it was busted. We had another issue with pipes which we had a plumber in for.

So anything that COULD have been fixed, has been by people who know what they are doing (i.e. not me )

I've been in the attic and, once again highlighting my ignorance, I'm pretty sure it's not that well insulated. It looks like a single sheet of fiberglass along the ceiling but thats it.

But I would point out that I am by no means an expert.

What I would love is to be able to say "Look, i'm getting the heating repaired/replaced and will take the money out of the rent" but I don't know if he'll go for that, especially if its a big job

Tails142

This advice isn't of much use to you, but a recent change makes it now necessary for a landlord to give you a BER cert when you rent a property, this will give an indication of its energy efficiency.

While its not going to change your situation, you could ask your landlord for a BER cert, threaten you'll report him (there is a €1000 fine for not producing one) and then either use it as leverage to get him to fix the problems or to break the lease early.

At the end of the day most landlords just want an easy life, so it may be that he's not bothered about fixing these issues. Might just be easier to up sticks and find a better house. Older houses often have very little insulation.

If you tell him the house his crap and you're thinking of leaving he will probably decide to do some of the repairs rather than lose a tenant and risk having the house empty for a couple of months without no rent coming in.

Also if I was in a house with only storage heating I would consider getting a free standing oil-filled electric radiator. They can be a little bit heavy on the electricity, but they do a good job at heating and storage heaters are NEVER going to work in a situation where there is someone at home all day. And then when you move house you'll be able to bring it with you. Another option would be a Super Ser.

odds_on

Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2008 state:
(1)Every room used, or intended for use, by the tenant of the house as a habitable room shall contain:
(a) a permanently fixed appliance or appliances capable of providing effective heating,
(b) suitable and adequate facilities for the safe and effective removal of fumes and other products of combustion to the external air.
(2) The operation of any appliance referred to in sub-article (1)(a) shall be capable of being independently manageable by the tenant.

Advise the landlord in writing that if he doesn't comply with the law within seven days, you will buy some heaters to comply with the regulations and deduct the cost from the next rent.

RedXIV

odds_on wrote: »

Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2008 state:
(1)Every room used, or intended for use, by the tenant of the house as a habitable room shall contain:
(a) a permanently fixed appliance or appliances capable of providing effective heating,
(b) suitable and adequate facilities for the safe and effective removal of fumes and other products of combustion to the external air.
(2) The operation of any appliance referred to in sub-article (1)(a) shall be capable of being independently manageable by the tenant.

Advise the landlord in writing that if he doesn't comply with the law within seven days, you will buy some heaters to comply with the regulations and deduct the cost from the next rent.

To be honest, we told him there was a heating problem 2 weeks ago. i don't want another week in a cold house. Its ok for me, I'll live, but the kids already have been sick from this with colds.

I'm not negating your advice, I just want something done faster

KindOfIrish

RedXIV wrote: »

Hi all,
I'd be happy to leave but we did sign a year long lease. But I can't keep my baby girl in an icebox?

help?

Just leave. All these year long leases for private accommodation are fake. You have all rights in the world. I would advise to stay rent free for one month before leaving to get some compensation for your suffering.

RedXIV

Today I've learned there is a more powerful force than the law.

A woman's wrath.

Herself snapped and has been on to the landlord who has meekly agreed to her terms. Just have to find someone to come out now and fix everything

Happy ending to all and to all a merry Xmas!

Victor

KindOfIrish wrote: »

Just leave. All these year long leases for private accommodation are fake. You have all rights in the world. I would advise to stay rent free for one month before leaving to get some compensation for your suffering.

Constructive posts only please.

the_syco

RedXIV wrote: »

A woman's wrath.

As William Congreve once said: "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" :pac:

=-=

Oh, and get someone to look at it ASAP, so they'll come back next day at the latest, otherwise if you may get someone out on Friday, they may not come back until the next day.

The_Conductor

KindOfIrish wrote: »

Just leave. All these year long leases for private accommodation are fake. You have all rights in the world. I would advise to stay rent free for one month before leaving to get some compensation for your suffering.

To be perfectly honest- with comments like this, I'd love to be your landlord, and drag you before the district court to show you that your lease is a legally binding document, and that there are reprecussions to vacating the lease. But I'm not a landlord- nor would I want to be, in the current climate.

If you genuinely think that year long leases for accommodation are fake and that you can behave as you are advocating- you are in for a shock when you meet a landlord who is familiar with the law, and willing to call your bluff......