No water

link_2007

A small bit of advice please.

A week ago the water pump in the apartment I am renting stopped working. Normally you can hear it kick in when you turn on a tap or appliance but it is just silent now. This meant that we had no running water apart from the cold tap in the kitchen, no showers, the toilets wouldn't flush and we were unable to use the washing machine or dishwasher.

I called the management company first thing last Tuesday morning (15th May) to explain what was wrong and that we had no use of the above items. I was told a plumber would be out that day. Nobody called out or contacted me by Thursday so I contacted the management company again and was again told someone would be out that afternoon. I went away for the weekend and arrived back last night to see thats still nobody has called out. I complained again today and was told that a plumber would be in contact. 5:40pm and surprise, surprise I have heard from nobody.

As you can imagine, living in a place for a week with no washing facilities or flushing toilets is starting to become a real pain.

So, apart from bombarding the management company with calls and emails until it's fixed, is there anything else I can do? Could we hold back some of the rent this month? Is there any body or organisation we can further complain to.

I honestly don't believe I am someone that causes a fuss for no reason but their general unhelpfulness during the whole situation is really pissing me off and I am not happy to just let things lie, even when the pump finally does get fixed.

Mikros

It sounds like the pump in your apartment has packed in and needs to be replaced or repaired. Seeing as though you still have cold water from the mains there is no issue with your actual water supply.

When you say management company do you mean your landlord or the management company responsible for the apartment block? Because if it is your internal pump the responsibility would lie with the landlord as opposed to the actual management company who would only be responsible for external pumps etc.

StillWaters

If you mean letting Agent, as opposed to management Company, I think at this stage you would definitely be within your rights to get a plumber out, pay him, and deduct the amount from the rent.
A week without basic sanitary facilities like a flushing loo or washing facilities is unacceptable.

If you have been contacting the Management Company as opposed to Landlord or Letting Agent, you ought contact them directly as they are the people who should be dealing with the Management Company, and it sounds like an issue in your apartment only in any case.

link_2007

Apologies, I do mean letting agent.

We were going to call a plumber and take the cost out of the rent but I couldn't see anything in our lease agreement that allows us to do this so we're worried that this amount will then just be removed from our deposit when we move out.

Anyway apparently now the plumber 'will look after it this morning'. We shall see...