Heating and Insulation

[peterdo]

Hello,

Previously I would have posted on here as a landlord, however I have now crossed to the other side as I haven't won the lottery therefore need to rent in London!

Anyway, the issue is, I have rented a flat, a renovated building type with the old windows etc. The place is freezing, no matter how long I leave the radiators on, turn on all the electric portable heaters etc, the flat is still cold, 17c cold!

Now the issue appears to be the window insulation, if I hold my hand an inch from the window I can feel the cold air pouring through the seals. This to me is unacceptable, and if I am honest, I am looking at any way possible to get out of the lease before March (6 month break). Where do I stand with this, is there an obligation on the landlord to provide a property that is appropriately protected against the weather, which in effect this is?

Any comments appreciated!

Thanks

Pete

[mind the gap]

There are standards governing minimum temperatures to safeguard human health; contact the EHO at your council and ask for an assessment of the property. The LL is statutorily obliged to provide and maintain the means to heat the rooms; if the heating is really hopeless, the EHO may require your LL to act.

Unless there were no heat at all, it is unlikely that you could legally exit from your tenancy contract because of this.

[westminster]

Where do I stand with this, is there an obligation on the landlord to provide a property that is appropriately protected against the weather, which in effect this is?

As MTG says, it's possible the EHO would ask your LL to improve the insulation, however, the LL's basic obligation is to repair/maintain the existing heating system so if that is working okay I wouldn't count on it.

I suggest you first try approaching the LL. If I were the LL here I wouldn't want my tenants feeling cold (therefore unhappy and likely to move out asap) - it's possible LL doesn't know if he bought the property recently or no previous tenants have actually complained. (I once had a new radiator installed and two tenants didn't tell me or didn't notice it wasn't working properly; I only found out when the third tenant complained of being cold).

Worst case scenario, DIY some insulation. e.g. window film, draft excluders, energy saving/insulating blinds, or even bubble wrap
http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_4752042_insulate-windows-really-well-cheap.html (it'll look awful but anything's better than being freezing).