Advice on boiler issue/renters rights... Landlords especially!

So, 3 weeks ago the boiler in our rented house died. The unit was apparently 26 years old. It failed in the middle of the night and flooded our utility room at the rear of our property (luckily detached from the main house)

As luck with have it, our landlord was out of the country when it failed, so we were left scrambling to arrange plumbers on our own. Our landlord has since then returned from holiday and has been "addressing the situation" since.

However, despite having a parade of plumbers and heating companies around to assess the boiler and give estimates, the fact of the matter is that the boiler still hasn't been replaced, and we are still without heating. While the weather has been mild, we have had some chilly mornings. We have a 4 year old at home, so it's more than just a case of putting on an extra cardigan to warm up.

Are we within our rights to ask for a partial reduction in rent for this situation? I've tried to find some language in our lease that references such situations, but all I can decipher is that a landlord is within reason when they are making an effort to fix the situation (which she is...but it's taking ages)
We do appreciate that replacing a boiler is a costly scenario and not one that anyone will want to do hastily, but it's getting a bit much at this point. 

That sucks.  Citizens Advice Bureau addresses this, though, and says you shouldn't withhold rent:

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/housing_e/housing_renting_a_home_e/getting_repairs_done_while_renting.htm

You don't have the right to withhold rent and you shouldn't do this to try to force your landlord to do repairs. Withholding rent could mean that your landlord takes legal action against you for rent arrears and you could lose your home.

In certain circumstances, you can arrange for repairs to be done yourself and use the rent money to pay for the work. This is not recommended as you have to carefully follow a certain procedure to do this. The law in this area is complicated so it is important to get advice.

It's never a good idea to just stop paying your rent, you should consult an experienced adviser without delay, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau.

I'd give CAB a call and see what they say.

Oh no, don't worry. I wouldn't think of withholding rent. Just wanted to know if we had any chance of getting back some rent money back for the past month of inconvenience.

I suppose it cannot hurt to ask and see what she says.

DH is already working on speaking with C.A.B.

You’re within your rights to ask for anything. Whether or not you’re entitled to a rebate on a portion of your rent is another story. I agree that a call to the CAB is useful.

I do think you’re first priority should be to pressure the landlord to fix the boiler. Three week without hot water is more than an inconvenience and as you said, colder weather is approaching and heating will be a necessity.

Is the issue cost or that she isn’t able to find a plumber to come replace the boiler? I can have some sympathy if she hasn’t been able to confirm a date with a plumber but either way she needs to throw some money at the situation and get it fixed. If she’s not prepared to pay then maybe she should reconsider being in the rental business.

Maybe pursue a rebate later. One thing is certain you will get absolutely unless you ask the question and if you do be firm and polite.

This happened to us. We went from Feb-April without heat or hot water. And paid every plumber + boiler out of our own pocket and it took LL 2 months to repay us, because they were out of the country for 6 weeks then refused to answer phones.

When we called CAB they said the only thing we could do was request a partial reduction in rent for three months to make up for the 3 months we spent freezing our asses off. So not really useful at the time.

Well they were just as receptive to reduction as the boiler fix. They said they would give us our deposit back in full, but then refused to put anything in writing.

Mostly hoping to develop some firestarter telekinesis to destroy LLs personal property. Until that happens the £300/month that we save renting this shithole is comforting me and I document EVERYTHING with our flat so we don't lose anything in our deposit.

Ohh! I need to take note of this! the shower in our on-suite has been giving us fits for the last three weeks. My husband has had to fix it himself three times and it works for a few showers than stops working again...I told him this week it was time to call our landlords...So I hope he does!

You can also contact Shelter for support

www.shelter.org.uk

Well, Citizens Advice seemed to just repeat what we already know. The LL is "making progress" with the situation by ensuring that hot water is in place (a new immersion tank was sorted within the 1st week of the boiler break-down) and by seeking out estimates for boiler replacement. We cannot withhold rent (everyone seems so concerned with this possibility---is this really a common outcome when tenants don't get their way?) and we can ask for whatever we want but the LL is under no obligation to offer any monetary compensation for the situation. At the end of the day I'm not going to do anything that jeopardizes the tenancy or any future references. It was hard enough finding a place to rent when we first moved here---both of us fresh off the plane from the States. I don't want to go through that again.

LL insists that the hold up is strictly on the end of the plumbers. Availability is limited, according to her messages.  Not that it's going to get any less busy this time of year...

It was near freezing here last night, with hail and flurries this morning. I'm blardy COLD.  My kid and I are tucked up in the lounge with a space heater and a duvet. (And did I mention the single glazing that we're not allowed to cover b/c of the need to "preserve period features" in the home?)

Thank you for letting me vent!!

Happy update: new boiler was replaced at the beginning of this month. In all, we were without heat for about a month (and only without hot water for about a week of that month) Landlord offered us a small monetary compensation without us even having to ask. It's not much, but certainly better than nothing and I'm not going to complain.

We even have better water pressure and a much warmer house. Amazing what a new boiler can do!

Glad that your issue was resolved.  Regarding double glazing, have you come across 'double glazing' film?  It's basically a clear plastic sheet that you stick to the window using the special double-sided sticky tape provided then use a hair dryer to heat it, whereupon it will shrink to size and form a seal.  It's designed to be a temporary thing, so worth considering for a rented property.  It's also pretty much invisible once up and so perfect for where you can't change the features of a property.  I would also recommend draught exclusion strips to put around windows.  Here are the things I'm talking about (you can get different sizes):





It helped us loads through the UK's coldest winter with single glazed windows on a rented property!