Boiler & pipe issues because of the weather, who is responsible?

Cherrycola

We have a few frozen pipes in our utility room, and one in the kitchen, we still have mains water and all pipes within the rest of the property are fine, but i have had the heating on 24/7 and loft door open to prevent them from freezing.
However the utility room is the coldest room in the house, and all the pipes running behind the cupboards(on an exterior facing wall) are completely exposed, no insulation, and the point at which the go into the ground to go outside seems to be just a open piece of wavin piping, again with no insulation, so im sure this is why they have frozen

Now the boiler is starting to give us problems, shutting off, and displaying an error code that requires a registered engineer to fix.

My Landlord is saying there is nothing he can do just to wait for a thaw, and to get onto our insurance company as any damage or labour would be our responsibility and out of his control.

Now, im thinking no tenants insurance will cover a burst pipe, or repairs to the boiler! :eek:
So is the LL responsible, even though the issues are due to extreme weather?
Surely the exposed uninsulated pipes are his problem, and the reason they have frozen.

JazzyJ

Cherrycola wrote: »

We have a few frozen pipes in our utility room, and one in the kitchen, we still have mains water and all pipes within the rest of the property are fine, but i have had the heating on 24/7 and loft door open to prevent them from freezing.
However the utility room is the coldest room in the house, and all the pipes running behind the cupboards(on an exterior facing wall) are completely exposed, no insulation, and the point at which the go into the ground to go outside seems to be just a open piece of wavin piping, again with no insulation, so im sure this is why they have frozen

Now the boiler is starting to give us problems, shutting off, and displaying an error code that requires a registered engineer to fix.

My Landlord is saying there is nothing he can do just to wait for a thaw, and to get onto our insurance company as any damage or labour would be our responsibility and out of his control.

Now, im thinking no tenants insurance will cover a burst pipe, or repairs to the boiler! :eek:
So is the LL responsible, even though the issues are due to extreme weather?
Surely the exposed uninsulated pipes are his problem, and the reason they have frozen.

I would have thought that this would be the landlords responsibility as its the house that has the problem and its up to the landlord to provide a house that is habitable.

J.

RentDayBlues

What your LL is saying is incorrect. Yes, the weather is out of his control but you are entitled to a warm, safe home. No damage caused as a result would be yours to repair or pay for!

If the boiler is acting up tell him you need someone to come out to fix it. If they say its due to weather unforunately there is not a lot you can do, but you are entitled to get it checked

Cherrycola

I thought as much, i think he just doesnt have a clue to be honest, he's new to the LL game. :rolleyes:

If anything, i thought he would be rushing someone out to check it, in case it exploded and caused huge damage to his house, :eek: but obviously not. :rolleyes:

robd

Cherrycola wrote: »

I thought as much, i think he just doesnt have a clue to be honest, he's new to the LL game. :rolleyes:

If anything, i thought he would be rushing someone out to check it, in case it exploded and caused huge damage to his house, :eek: but obviously not. :rolleyes:

Ah, the old accidental landlord. Plenty of cases of them passing through boards.ie. They tend to need to be assertively informed of their obligations etc.

Cadoche

I can tell you that am 100% sure that the landlord is fully responsible to get it fixed. If he doesn't, don't give him the next rent and advise him that you'll take part of it to fix it if he doesn't...afterall, you're the one paying the extras just to get your house heated. Stand your ground, its your hard earned cash and landlords are desperate to get tenants now.

odds_on

Cadoche wrote: »

I can tell you that am 100% sure that the landlord is fully responsible to get it fixed. If he doesn't, don't give him the next rent and advise him that you'll take part of it to fix it if he doesn't...afterall, you're the one paying the extras just to get your house heated. Stand your ground, its your hard earned cash and landlords are desperate to get tenants now.

That is illegal. You need to advise the LL in writing and keep a copy (in case either you or he makes a claim with the PRTB. Not paying the rent will not go well for the tenant's case. Advise the LL that he has x number of days to rectify the problem and if he doesn't, you will get an engineer to fix it and then deduct the cost from the rent.

Also advise him that you may make a claim to the PRTB as regards the lack of running water in the house and he is in breach of landlord obligations to maintain the supply within the property. This alone may get some action out of him.

However, I have my doubts as regards the frozen pipes in the utility room - it seems that you may not have heated the room sufficiently and that is your responsibility - no matter what it costs in gas/electricity/oil, especially in this exceptionally cold period. I think the PRTB may be on the LL's side here, - but not in respect to the boiler.

Cherrycola

Just with regards to heating the utility room, there is one radiator in there, but its behind one of the cupboards, so only 1/3 of it is visible, and hence the heat is lost up behind the cupboard.
We have had the heating on 24/7 during the cold snap, what more could we do?

The kitchen/utility room is on the end of the house, with two exposed walls, the rads are not balanced correctly so its the coldest room in the house, the pipes are copper pipes running under the cupboards, along the exterior wall, and have no insulation, where the pipes exit the house is just a piece of wavin piping sticking up from the concrete floor, i dont think the walls are adequately insulated either, cos when we open the presses we can feel the cold, the plates inside were baltic!

So i think we did all we could to heat the house to be honest, i just dont think he's done enough to keep the heat in.

Graces7

odds_on wrote: »

That is illegal. You need to advise the LL in writing and keep a copy (in case either you or he makes a claim with the PRTB. Not paying the rent will not go well for the tenant's case. Advise the LL that he has x number of days to rectify the problem and if he doesn't, you will get an engineer to fix it and then deduct the cost from the rent.

Also advise him that you may make a claim to the PRTB as regards the lack of running water in the house and he is in breach of landlord obligations to maintain the supply within the property. This alone may get some action out of him.

However, I have my doubts as regards the frozen pipes in the utility room - it seems that you may not have heated the room sufficiently and that is your responsibility - no matter what it costs in gas/electricity/oil, especially in this exceptionally cold period. I think the PRTB may be on the LL's side here, - but not in respect to the boiler.

Ah, the old "blame the tenant" tactic? Reread the OP please; the pipes are not protected and that is the landlord's fault.

NB Did you ever get a BER rating on the place? They would have seen that and reported it.

PTRB would assert that.

Properties are not meant to eat all your cash. The name is insulation here of course.

Graces7

Cherrycola wrote: »

Just with regards to heating the utility room, there is one radiator in there, but its behind one of the cupboards, so only 1/3 of it is visible, and hence the heat is lost up behind the cupboard.
We have had the heating on 24/7 during the cold snap, what more could we do?

The kitchen/utility room is on the end of the house, with two exposed walls, the rads are not balanced correctly so its the coldest room in the house, the pipes are copper pipes running under the cupboards, along the exterior wall, and have no insulation, where the pipes exit the house is just a piece of wavin piping sticking up from the concrete floor, i dont think the walls are adequately insulated either, cos when we open the presses we can feel the cold, the plates inside were baltic!

So i think we did all we could to heat the house to be honest, i just dont think he's done enough to keep the heat in.

Be assured that you have done all that is humanly possible and then some. Ask for a BER inspection, please. Some houses are just cold because of poor provision. Not your fault in any way.

BostonB

The rented house has to have a Ber rating. But is there is minimum rating you must have?