Boiler, plumbing and my rights as a tenant

[Lord Percy]

So I moved into a new place a couple of weeks ago.

It's a nice place to live apart from three things:

1. The cold side of the kitchen tap is barely more than a trickle. Sometimes doesn't work at all until a few seconds have passed.

2. Hot water constantly flips between hot and cold every 20 seconds. Doesn't matter if it's washing the dishes or having a shower. It's gas heated, so basically the boiler is clicking on and off every 20 seconds instead of firing continuously when the water is running.

3. It's a set of apartments, I'm on the 1st floor so my 'front door' goes into a corridor. That corridor has an automatic light switch thing so it's dark unless you press a button. Problem is, the button outside my door doesn't work which makes the entire thing almost entirely pitch black and there's not a thing I can do about it unless I walk down the corridor, in near total darkness, to another switch.


Which of these things do I have to just put up with, and which ones can I kick up a fuss about with the landlord (if any)? I've already mentioned them in a polite email but seem to have been conveniently ignored.

The boiler issue is the main one, and I feel like I'm in a sort of grey area. It works, but it also doesn't work. I can put up with it, but what if I was a frail old woman having to put up with it? Water constantly flipping between warm and stone cold. Showers each morning are not fun.

Any thoughts? Thanks

[King29]

Buy a torch, 1 problem solved. Boiler is another issue. Fuck with it until it's shot then get a new one installed by landlord.

You're welcome.

[Lord Percy]

I was reading about self-repair on things and it seems to be quite the risk. Apparently all the landlord has to do is merely accuse you of tampering with it, then it becomes a hassle to get it fixed.

Luckily I have written evidence of the last tenant saying the boiler was iffy for her as well (and the landlord has seen that too, in fact it was nestled in a message the landlord passed on to me), so I have some leg to stand on here, as long as I don't dive in and make it any worse.

I'm just wondering if I can claim some human rights, health and safety, tenant regulations spiel about the boiler in its current state. It's bearable, but feels a bit third world. Temperamental hot water.

[Ste]

https://www.thinkmoney.co.uk/news-advice/broken-boiler-in-rented-house-your-rights-0-8494-0.htm

I can't see how the boiler issue is a grey area, if the hot water constantly flips between hot and cold every 20 seconds then it doesn't work.

Kick up a fuss with the landlord and local council.

[Lord Percy]

Ha, I saw that article already. Just didn't know if it applied to me because the boiler can still make very hot water (albeit intermittently).

Alright I'll pursue it.

Thanks!

[MarJay]

Turn the boiler temperature down.

I've seen this so many times. My other half rents out her house and was doing it via AirBnB for a while so has had lots of tenants. Instead of using thermostats or timers people do all sorts of things to try to make the hot water or heating work. Here are some examples:

Turn the heating to 'on' and then turn down all but one radiator and then complain that the rooms whose radiators are on their lowest setting are cold.

Turn the heating to 'on' put the thermostat to '30' then open all the windows because they are too warm at night

Put the hot water on for 3 hours, turn the water temperature to max, don't use the shower mixer properly and complain the water is too hot

Put the hot water on for 5 minutes and then complain the shower is cold

None of it is malicious, it's just that people don't ask how the system works, and haven't had a chance to find all of the controls (which admittedly are all in different places).

I reccomend looking for the boiler, and seeing if there is a hot water temperature setting and turning it to 1/4 to 1/2 of maximum. It sounds like a combi boiler that has been turned to max, and then cuts out when it goes over temperature. The Landlord probably should explain this to you, but as above in our experience some people either don't listen, don't want to know or are happy doing it the wrong way, so it's not a massive stretch that your landlord might assume the same. A sensible conversation may well solve the problem, but that only works if you can manage to get such a conversation to happen.

Also, the combi boiler heat exchanger might need replacing and the landlord could be ducking it... but let's try the stuff that is free to fix first before assuming the worst.
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[Easy-X]

The tap being a trickle may just be the washer. Although you could argue the landlord should do it you're probably better off doing it yourself (or hiring a plumber.)

We had the exact same problem in our office kitchen. In the end the plumber swapped the taps out (cold tap all seized up) but unless you want something fancy bog-standard taps don't cost much.

Boiler is definitely something the landlord has to fix - you are paying rent after all! Don't fix it yourself unless the landlord goes out of the way to ignore you then you might go as far as getting a quote for a new boiler and post it with a note like "if I don't hear from you in 30 days I with get the work done and deduct the costs from the rent..." Note, it isn't as simple as that but it might get their attention

The light switch again is something the landlord should fix.
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[Lord Percy]

Ha, quite the rant.

My boiler's in the kitchen, I already found it and it isn't set at maximum. I just tried with the heat at quarter/half and it still has the same problem. It does the same thing no matter how I set it.

You're right about one thing - it seems to be based on the temperature it's set to. It clicks off when its reached the temperature I set it to. I don't understand why it would ever click off when the water is running though, because that just results in cold water.

It doesn't appear to have any kind of hot water storage unit. It just fires up over the pipes when the water is running. Hence instant cold when the flame turns off.

[Lord Percy]

Yeah I was pretty sure the tap is my own problem to sort. I just can't figure out how to get at the bits that make water come out of it! It's a pretty solid unit without any screwy bits.

Yeah I think I'm going to have to chase up the landlord on this boiler.

Well, not the landlord. Letting agent. They seem to mostly deal in house sales though, rather than rentals. I'm certain this is going to be an annoying process.

[stinkwheel]

1) If the pressure is ok everywhere else, it'll be a busted tap washer. They cost about 50p.

Just be aware that old monoblock taps can be just hanging together and fall to bits when you take them apart so make sure you know where the stopcock is before you set about trying to fix it and don't do it at 5pm on a Sunday so if you need to go get a new tap from B&Q, you can.

You usually need to either undo a grub-screw to get the tap handle off or pry a cap off the end of it to access a screw (often the 'H' and 'C' markers). You can buy a wee bag of assorted tap washers for sweetie money, one of them should fit well enough.

If you're lucky, there might be an isolator valve on the tap and flexible hoses which would make replacing it a doddle. You will get a brand new monobloc tap for about £30. This may be the simplest in the long run and less hassle than trying to get someone else to sort it out.. If you're not sure what sort of tap it is, post pics.

2) Check the pressure vessel in the boiler is at the correct pressure, you sometimes need to add more water with a filling loop (which is invariably left in place or will be attached at one end or something). There will be a guage on it which should be at about 1bar. Youtube is your friend.

3) Is it a common stairwell which has several different landlords? It may be a "sttreet lighting" issue. I know the stairwell lights in my Edinburgh tenement were actually a council thing when I lived there. Not sure what your local regs are.

The switch is probably very cheap and it would be pretty easy to fit another one, or to replace the loose wire or whatever. The trouble would be a) You're probably not supposed to unless you are an electrician and b) You probably don't have access to the fusebox to cut off the power while you do it. For me, the second issue would be the one that stopped me.
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[MarJay]

Oh yeah, those symptoms could be an unpressurised combi boiler too... I had to have a special tool to pressurise my old Worcester Bosch boiler. My current boiler has a red pressure vessel above the hot water tank, and has two taps. It only increases pressure if both taps are open.
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[Riejufixing]

[Riejufixing]

[Sister Sledge]

Light switch: Needs fixing. Tell the landlord it sounds like it's sparking when you try to use it. Tell them that despite noise it still doesn't work. Tell them it felt hot when it was buzzing.
Yes all lies but it will get fixed. A common theme is make noise at those who should be repairing things.

Cold water flow: Do the taps have isolation valves on the pipes? They're usually closed/opened using a flat blade screwdriver. If they have, make sure the valve is fully open and not partially.
Check that the main stop cock for your house is fully open too. Often they're beside a toilet or under a kitchen sink.

Combi boilers? Have a story..
My landlord (large North East council authority) kept doing repairs to my boiler every two weeks. Yup - it was an old and knackered boiler and the council wouldn't fund a new one. The workmen hated them - my whole estate had them installed at the same time and they were all breaking across the estate. It was costing me lost hours at work and massive inconvenience at home. It went on for 6 months and I'd finally had enough..
A workman had been to fix it as usual but this time he left a brass screw thing on my kitchen bench. The boiler was working but it obviously needed this part. Not only that but he'd put the boiler back together using that thin aluminium sticky tape. No screws - just tape holding it all together. I was fuming. A badly done job, dangerous and likely to last a week.
I sat for a cuppa in my living room and suddenly lots of noise in my kitchen - I went in and half the boiler had fallen out and other bits were hanging by live wires being pulled tightly against the sharp metal casing. I'd had enough.
I packed my car on the driveway with a flask of coffee and food. I opened all of my house windows and phoned Transco. I reported a gas leak. Transco arrived in 8 minutes. The workers went into my house with machines sniffing for gas leaks. 30 minutes later they came out and told me no gas - but what the F was going on with my boiler? I explained my frustration. He smiled and asked if I felt it should be condemned. I said yes. He warned me that I could not use anything but I still said yes. He did the condemning and left.
I then phoned my landlords at the authority. They went nuts with me asking why on Earth I'd dragged Transco into things. 'Because I smelt gas' I said. My landlord knew that dragging Transco into the mix would cause huge problems for them and they'd need to act fast.
The result? Brand new boiler installed within two days by a private company. The same company had installed 12 new boilers on my estate in the last two weeks - all failing at the same time and the landlords workmen couldn't keep up with new installations.
Quite a Tef effort there but letting you know what sort of things can be done.

Make noise. Lots of it. Get to know your rights.
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[Lord Percy]

All is being sorted

My fears about the letting agent being a dick were completely unfounded. I guess I was burned too badly by my previous agent in Leeds*

Spoke to the letting agent today and every single problem is now being looked into. They have a contract with a plumbing/boiler company, someone will be over Monday. They'll look at the weak tap at the same time. And the landing light is the responsibility of another company who manage the rest of the building, apparently it had some trouble before so it's not a new thing and will be looked into again. The girl in the office called them on the spot to chase it up while I was there.

So much success, I don't know what do with myself Even solved another couple of problems that I didn't mention in the OP. Honestly expected to just have to put up with it all.

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Edited to add: The "SEO" stuff above is for my previous, intolerable scumbag of a letting agent, Rooftop Living, run by Anjam Sheikh and an older man who I believe to be his father. Scumbags, the pair of them, absolute scum of the earth, I've never met two worse human beings, honestly.

My current letting agent is great

[Ste]

Personally I'd keep their name out of it, at least until everything is sorted.

[Riejufixing]