RE: Arisotn unvented electric immersion heater. NO hot water for 6 weeks

[rgriff]

I am a private tenant, from Dec 2009 until Feb 2010 I was without hot water in my rented property, landlord arranged for electricians / plumbers and maintenance men to fix the heater, After 7 weeks between them they finally fixed the heater by changing immersion and thermostat and also fixed leak by using correct sealant.
We were limited to 1 shower per day per household, up until Sept this year the heater broke again exactly same faults, leaking from immersion and no hot water, to date I still have no hot water, an ariston engineer visited my home recently and said the electric cables were incorrect and should not be boiling hot he switched heater off for safety reasons, he said a plumber and an electrician need to deal with this disrepair as boiler was never registered therefore no warranty from when it was purchased and installed in 2009. electrician came same day and changed wires to a 1.5mm unsure if this is correct or not, but its alot thicker than previous cable
My landlord sent his property builder round yesterday to fix heater so i can have hot water, unfortunately he was unable to do so .... it took him 3 hours to drain tank install new immersion, but there is a leak from hot water supply then he had to leave so its all switched off at present waiting for him to re-visit. Do you have to be a plumber to repair these type of boilers or can anyone follow this procedure as its not gas.
I appreciate any help as im going crazy not knowing whats right or wrong, I just want hot water 6 weeks second time around in this situation is causing nothing but stress and upset thank you

 

[Puddle]

please help

It is hard when in rented accommodation when things like this happen,however you are in the landlords hands,after this amount of time with no hot water,think is time to start threatening him with 'health and safety',and requesting rent reductions or threatening rent retentions,however always seek legal advise before taking any action as can easily back fire
you do not have to be gas safe to work on un-vented cylinders however you do have to have 'unvented cylinder ' registration to work on the cylinders

good luck

imho

 

[darrenangel]

Re: Ariston unvented electric immersion heater. NO hot water for 6 weeks

I think i'm right in saying that if you have no hot water or heating you're within your rights to withhold the rent money. Check with citizens advise. Let us know the outcome please.

 

[Avatar]

Re: please help

yes you do - although not legally.

I wish they would change this though. Sounds like your property is full of 'bob the builder' lash ups, which a real plumber would be able to sort in a matter of hours.

The council have a department which can force your landlord to carry out the work properly, as you are living in 'unsafe and unhealthy enviroment' . . .

 

[rgriff]

Re: please help

Good Morning
Thank you so much for your reply, you have confirmed what I thought, I wrote to the Environmental health after the 4th week of no hot water, even have a child living at the property with myself the only help they could offer is to write a letter, which is what I had done three times already. Landlord eventually after 7 weeks got his maintenance man round again, whom admitted to Ariston engineer and myself that he is not a plumber or electrician, but still carried out the work, fortunately the only damage he has done this time is left my airing cupboard and hallway soaking wet from draining the tank to change the immersion tank.
I think it's terrible that this country doesn't make it legal to have the qualifications as far as this is concerned, I understand it's not gas but still electrics and water can be dangerous.
I really appreciate your effort in replying to me thank you very much
Have a nice day

 

[Avatar]

Re: please help

Oh no - it is illiegal to work on electrics as well!
I can change like for like, but that is it (knowing what I am doing though!)

I suppose you could withold rent to get the job done properly. This is illiegal (due to your contract) however some legal advice may not go admiss. Thing is you pay good money every month to your landlord for a functioning flat!
Desperate measures:
- ask for a reduction in rent or even better put in a small claim court application for an appropriate deduction (ie; £100x months plus summons fee plus 'expensis')

it is better to follow the legal route - the landlord may get his finger out if you send him a letter warning legal action . . .

Good luck!

 

[rgriff]

Re: please help

Thanks you have been most helpful
Unfortunately withholding rent can get me in more trouble, even though the property hasn't been habitable for my daughter and I for 4 months in total out of 1 15 month tenancy. I am currently looking to move so hopefully we will find something soon then I can live a normal life again with hot water on tap (pardon the pun) ha ha
If not I am going to stay in a hotel and use the rent money and if I get into trouble, tough I work hard to pay for our home and I am not going to hand over £700 every month just to put our safety at risk. squatters have more rights than myself, It makes you wonder who makes the rules,

 

[jase158]

Re: please help

To all those who say "refuse to pay the rent." this is absolutely terrible advice, this will leave you homeless without any heating or a roof over your head. My brother has flats and if people refuse to pay the rent then he does not do the work untill the rent is paid. Put it this way if you are not paying your rent then you have broke your contract and he is under no obligation to get the work done, however my brother does keep his boiler serviced by a gas engineer and the actions of this landlord and the maintenance man are discusting, now here is what i would do,

1. ring him every morning nice and early to remind him of the work needs doing, if he does not answer leave messages and keep ringing until he does, do not get angry, do not swear simply point out the problem, the fact you have a child there and that it needs fixing very soon, make sure that you ask for an exact date that it will be fixed. Eventually he will realise you are not going to go away.

2. report this maintenance man for doing gas/electric work when he is not registered, also speak to gas safe about your landlord, he must have a gas safety check on the boiler every year and it must be registered.

3. do not move out but speak to a solicitor about your rights and recieving the money you lost from him and his breach in the contract. you may even get compensation.

as soon as you move out all your rights are gone and it is very hard to make a claim. obviously you have to weigh the danger you are in compared to all this hassle, but if the boiler is fixed after several days calling the landlord then you are in no danger and this will prevent the landlord and the maintenance man doing the same again, endangering more peoples lives.

None of this causes a breach of your contract and the landlord will have to let you live there, then when it is all done, take your time and find somewhere else to live. but take your time, if you move into a hotel it is likely you will be in a rush to move out and end up back at square one.

 

[jase158]

Re: please help

sorry didnt realise you were talikng about immersion heater, i would still report maintenance man but the landlord is not in trouble with gas safe, although the letter from environmental health will normally give them a date to fix it by or they will be taken to court, try going to your council office and speaking to them, then you can judge there reaction and find out if it is something that must be repaired by the landlord. I went to environmental health about a landlord because i had a lot of damp in one of my flats, i had been worrying about it for months, they sent somebody round and wrote to the landlord, it was fixed within about 3 weeks, still 3 weeks though.

sounds like the tank needs changing as the immersion heater keeps popping out, obviously couldn't diagnose properly unless i saw it but i would suggest complete replacement, would cost £300 for new tank and immersion heater plus labour. probably why the landlord doesnt want to get it done. Also the leak is probably the poor plumbers handy work, pipes do not leak, either he hasnt jointed it properly or hasnt given it the right degrees of angle for the hot feed as it should be angled upwards.